Product Review: Klavuu White Pearlsation Ideal Actress Backstage Cream SPF30 PA++

Hi, guys! I've been neglecting my blog for quite some time now and I realized that I did not finish blogging about my Hong Kong, Japan and Hanoi trip... :/ 

Anyways, I'm going to do something which I have always been meaning to do but did not have the determination to do, until today. PRODUCT REVIEW! Yay! As friends who know me well, I am a 100% pure cosmetics fanatic. I tend to buy a lot of new products to try and then share my thoughts on those products on Insta Story (which disappears after 24 hours... Haha). So today, I am going to share my thoughts on products which I have recently purchased from Klavuu.

For those of you who have never heard of Klavuu before (pronounced as Klar-View), the name Klavuu is a combination of Swedish words "Klar" (meaning clean), and "Vuu" (metaphor for belief / perspective). Combining these 2 words would mean clear and transparent belief. Klavuu is one of the hottest emerging K-beauty brands in Korea. Sadly, not many of us Malaysians have heard of this brand before. I've only come across this brand last month and after doing much research and reading tons of reviews about this brand, I knew I had to give it a try! By the way, Klavuu is the first marine pearl cosmetic brand in Korea that infuses natural pearl and marine plant extracts into their product formulas. In short, all of Klavuu's products contain pearl extracts. 

Today, I'm only going to review Klavuu White Pearlsation Ideal Actress Backstage Cream SPF30 PA++. Here goes!

Products that I've bought:-
1. Klavuu White Pearlsation Enriched Divine Pearl Serum Mask
2. Klavuu Blue Pearlsation High Coverage Marine Collagen Aqua Cushion SPF50+ PA+++
3. Klavuu White Pearlsation Ideal Actress Backstage Cream SPF30 PA++

Klavuu White Pearlsation Ideal Actress Backstage Cream SPF30 PA++

 

This product is a multi-functional product which has 5 functions:

• Makeup Base
• Primer
• Pearl Base
• Fixer
• Sunscreen

The 4 key ingredients used for this product are agar extracts, pearl extracts, spirulina extracts and seaweed extracts.

This product is a simple pearl based product that combines all the complicated base products into one. The micro pearl particles apply easily on your skin and provides your skin with a natural glow. This cream is also said to be frequently chosen by makeup artists for actresses with dry skin to help their makeup stay put longer on their skin.

In addition, this cream evens out your skin tone and enhances the dewiness of your skin. Skin will appear naturally radiant and luminous because of the pearl extracts in the cream.

Most makeup bases are white in colour but as you can see from the photo above, the colour of the cream is in light pink.

After I spread it out.

Thanks to my camera, the white shimmers look really obvious in the photo above!

Left side: without the cream; Right side: with the cream

Can you see the major difference after I have blended the cream into the skin? My right side looks slightly more glowy and whitened than the left side.

My Verdict:

The texture of this cream is lightweight and it blends into the skin effortlessly. It is moisturizing and doesn't feel oily even after a few hours of application. What I like about this cream is that it absorbs quickly into the skin and my skin immediately glows and looks more dewy. Applying it before applying my BB Cushion makes my makeup lasts longer too. Since the texture of this cream is more on the thin side, it acts as a perfect makeup base and my makeup does not feel 'heavy' on my face. It can also be used as a sunscreen on my makeup-free days which gives me the 'no makeup, makeup look' as my face looks more radiant. :)

Where to Purchase:

Check out Cozy Beauty on Facebook or Instagram!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cozybeauty8781/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cozy_beauty/

That's all for now. I hope this review helps some of you to get to know Klavuu better! Till next time.

Hong Kong Day 1 - Sun Kee Pork Cheese Noodles, Stanley, Authentic Dai Pai Dong & Hoi Kee Walnut Place

Just came back from Hong Kong a month ago and it was really fun! Many of my friends thought I was crazy to go to HK for 9 days (I thought so too) but happy to say that I wasn't crazy after all. I'm finally having some motivation to blog about my HK trip (despite still being lazy) because many of my friends are asking me to send them my itinerary. So here goes!

First and foremost, here's the breakdown of the total cost of my entire trip:-

1. Flight (Air Asia) - RM 853.16 (only bought baggage and did not buy any travel insurance / in-flight meals) [baggage - 25kg (KUL-HKG); 20kg + 20kg (HKG-KUL)]
2. Hotel (Airbnb) - RM 1,434.00 (for 8 nights, RM179.25/night)
3. Cash that I brought there - RM 4,235.00 (which is equivalent to 8,700 HKD)
4. Balance of cash at the end of the trip - (RM 300) (around 600 HKD)

TOTAL EXPENSES INCURRED FOR 2 PAX (ALL IN) FOR 9 DAYS 8 NIGHTS - RM 6,222.16


Day 1 - 30/09/2016 (Saturday)

We reached Hong Kong International Airport at roughly around 11.15AM and my cousin was already waiting at the arrival hall. I was lucky enough to have relatives in HK who brought me around throughout my 9 days there. So, I really couldn't thank them enough. :')

Then my cousin's bf drove us to our Airbnb hostel to check-in but the check-in time was from 3PM onwards so we just left our luggage along the corridor of the hostel. Here's the link to the Airbnb hostel - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/9292007. Overall, the building itself was very old, the room was too small and there were no windows in the room. Thus, the lack of air ventilation in the room. However, the room and the washroom were both clean and Jordan MTR Exit B1 was right in front of the building so I really can't complain much.

First thing to do upon reaching the airport is to buy an Octopus Card. Octopus can be used to ride almost all types of public transportation in HK. Most of the convenience stores such as 7-Eleven accepts payment via Octopus so it is really convenient.

HK MTR System Map - http://www.mtr.com.hk/archive/en/services/routemap.pdf

Octopus Fare Chart - http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/tickets/octopus_fares.html

You can use the Train Trip Planner on the website above to get a rough estimate on the fare charged from one station to another designated station so it's really convenient.

In addition to that, this website helps me to plan better too. http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/index.jsp

Sun Kee Pork Cheese Noodles (新記芝士麵)

I did my research on where to eat in HK and this was definitely one of the must-go places when you're in HK. I came here for late lunch and the crowd wasn't so bad. My cousin, who is a Hongkie, said that she loved the pork neck cheese noodles here!


This is the bomb! Pork neck cheese noodles. 47 HKD

I know it doesn't look appetizing at all, but trust me, it was that good. Who knows maggie mee + cheese goes so well? I expected the pork neck to be dry but NOOOO it was the complete opposite. The meat was so tender and moist that it literally melted in my mouth.



Baby ordered this. Egg with sausage cheese noodles. 44 HKD.

Squid tentacles with sweet honey sauce. Direct translation from the menu is honey dragon beard haha. 50 HKD

A cup of iced lemon tea to finish off the meal! 20 HKD

If you don't read Chinese, the pork neck cheese noodles is the second one (47 HKD) and the sausage and egg cheese noodles is the third one (44 HKD).

 

And if you want to try their pork neck, sausage and also egg, just go ahead and order the first one (58 HKD) which is a combination of 3 of these ingredients.



The drinks menu.

They have 2 branches in HK. One in Tsim Tsa Tsui and another one in Wan Chai. I went to the one in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Wan Chai Branch
Address: 3 Burrows Street, Wan Chai (灣仔巴路士街3號地下)
Opening Hours: 7.30am to 11.00pm (Daily)
Directions: MTR Wan Chai Station – A4 Exit Google Map

Tsim Sha Tsui Branch
Address: Champagne Court 16-20, GF 13-14, Kimberley Rd Tsim Sha Tsui
(尖沙咀金巴利道16-20號香檳大廈地下13-14號舖)
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 7:30AM – 11:00PM; Sun 12:00PM – 6:00PM
Directions: MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station - Exit B1 or B2. Champagne Court is just opposite The Mira hotel. Google Map

Stanley (赤柱)

After our satisfying first meal, we headed over to Stanley. Stanley is quite far from Tsim Sha Tsui by the way. The winding road made me dizzy too. We decided to come here because we had too much time in hand. So, why not pay it a visit right?

We parked our car at Stanley Plaza.

 

 

Murray House at Stanley.

We also went to Stanley Market to just take a look but didn't buy anything from the market as the things there were pricey. We stayed for only 1-2 hours before heading back to Jordan to check-in to our hostel room. I'm sure it would be nice to just have dinner at one of the restaurants there overlooking the gorgeous view at night.

For detailed information regarding the directions here - http://www.hongkongstanleymarket.com/getting-here/public-transport

Authentic Dai Pai Dong at Shum Shui Po

My cousin treated us dinner at this authentic dai pai dong at Shum Shui Po. It was nothing spectacular to be honest but we enjoyed being there! Here are food pictures from that day. (I honestly don't remember the names to the dishes that we've ordered)



This is yummy!!



I've never seen this brand in Malaysia before and I think that this is even better than Heineken!

Total cost of this dinner was 320 HKD.

Hoi Kee Walnut Place (海记)

Then of course we went to have desserts! There were many choices of dessert shops in HK but in the end we went to Hoi Kee Walnut Place (海记).

 

 

I love the one on the left! Black sesame glutinous rice balls in ginger soup!  

 

This is glutinous rice balls coated with sugar, white and black sesame. It was good!

We ordered those desserts for sharing and we were too full to even move after finishing them all. We paid 135 HKD in total for the desserts shown above.

 

Hoi Kee Walnut Place232 Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Prince Edward

 

Directions: Google Map

MTR Mong Kok Station - Exit B3 or

MTR Prince Edward Station - Exit B1

 

Will continue my day 2 in another post! Thanks for reading!

Krabi - Day 3

This post is way overdue, I know. Haha. But anyways, will just share some pictures from my Krabi trip for Day 3.

I remembered choosing to go to Koh Phi Phi and Maya Bay for my island hopping package. We did go to other islands but I could only remember visiting the famous Maya Bay and snorkeling around other islands.

Look at the clear water. 

Snorkeling was fun!

Us in Maya Bay.

Maya Bay.

We went to Krabi in March 2016 and it was hot and packed with tourists. If you want to know how much we have spent on this trip, check out my previous post for Day 1 and Day 2. 

Krabi Itinerary - Day 1 & Day 2

3 months ago, I went to Krabi and had a blast there. It was my birthday trip! :) So, I thought of sharing my itinerary here and also the total cost incurred throughout the trip. Hehe. Firstly, let me state down the summary of the cost for this trip.

Note:- All costs stated below are for 2 pax.

• Air Asia return flight ticket (KL-Krabi) - RM248.00 (we did not add-on baggage)
• Hotel (3 nights) - RM635.42
• Cash (RM to Thai Baht) - RM800 (can't really remember the exact rate but I think it was approximately RM12 to 100Baht)
• 1/2 Day Kayak, 1/2 Day ATV Ride & 1 Day Island Hopping - 5,459Baht
• Hilltop Restaurant (for dinner) - 1,749Baht

TOTAL EXPENSES FOR 4D3N (2 PAX): RM2,548.30NETT

Day 1 - 06/03/2016

Was feeling extremely excited for the trip! :) Our flight was at 1.30PM so our plan was just to chill at the hotel until about 6 something before we head down to the night market. Upon reaching the airport, we went to board the airport shuttle bus. The fare was 150baht/pax and the shuttle bus would literally drop you off at your hotel. After long hours of research, this is the cheapest way to get to Krabi Town or Ao Nang from the airport. However, the downside is that it would take a longer time to reach your hotel as the bus driver goes from hotel to hotel to drop off passengers before it's your turn to be dropped off.

Areetara Resort. Image taken from Agoda.com

We stayed at Areetara Resort at Ao Nang, where I got injured in the bathtub. :( It was a terrible experience and I'll elaborate on that later. Anyways, back to the going-to-the-night-market story. Initially, we didn't expect it to be sooooo difficult to catch a tuk-tuk or a minivan to go to the night market from Ao Nang so we waited until the very last minute i.e. 6.00PM local time, to go down to the hotel reception desk and ask for a tuk-tuk. They quoted 400baht round trip for 1 pax. Wth. Of course we rejected. To cut the story short, we went to the tourist information centre to ask for a tuk-tuk and they provided us with an offer price if we were to take their island hopping package. After negotiation, we took their kayak + ATV + island hopping package and we agreed at 300baht/pax for return trip from our hotel to the night market.

The minivan driver picked us up from our hotel lobby at 6.30PM and I thought we would head straight to the night market. Apparently when they tell you "Wait at the lobby and our driver will pick you up between 6.30PM-7.00PM", they meant it literally. So yeah, the driver came at 6.45PM and we reached the night market at about 7.30PM as the driver continued picking up people from various hotels after we got on the minivan. We were then given about 1.5-2 hours at the night market before heading back to the hotel again.

At Krabi Town Walking Street Weekend Market

This is insanely good!

The night market operates from Friday-Sunday, 5.00PM-10.00PM.

Day 2 - 07/03/2016

It's my birthday! :) Happy birthday to me! Hehe. The second day was both fun and tiring at the same time. I couldn't really remember what time they came to the hotel to pick us up in the morning for the 1/2 day kayak trip. I think we went to Ao Thalane for kayak. This is my first time going on a kayak-ing trip and it was very exciting. My bf on the other hand, was exhausted because he did all the kayak-ing. Haha. All I did was being a small little kid who was very excited and took pictures whenever I could.

Baby. <3



 

 

Love this picture! The tour guide took this picture for us. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Kayak-ing was really fun and I'd do it again next time! :) However, it was very packed with tourists as some of the routes were quite narrow.

We met a pair of German couple and friends from Philliphines and India. :) Had fun sharing stories from our countries at the end of our kayak trip.

We went back to our hotel for a quick lunch as lunch was not included in this 1/2 day kayak package. At about 2.00PM, the driver came to pick us up for our ATV ride session. It was something different and both of us were excited to gain this experience. The ATV session was about 1-1.5 hours. I was feeling really scared at first and I was afraid that the boiling hot engine motor would burn my legs. HAHA. Yes, I'm a scaredy cat. BUT I SURVIVED THE ENTIRE SESSION although I had blisters on my palms after that. Haha.

The tour guide kept taking photos of us. Hahaha.

We reached hotel at about 4.30PM and we quickly get ready for the most important event of the day: MY BIRTHDAY DINNER! :)

We went to The Hilltop Ao Nang Restaurant for the dinner. I just love the view there because I get to see the sun set and it was so romantic to be there with your beloved one. So, I just want to say that I'm lucky to be there with him. :) I booked a table via their official website a few weeks in advance to reserve a table with sunset view. The restaurant provides free shuttle service from your hotel to the restaurant which is a plus point. :) Krabi is so nice, right? Haha.

Us while waiting for our food & enjoying the sunset view.

The beautiful sunset.

 

 

Next up, pictures of food! :)

 



Hilltop Duck - 290Baht

 

Mussels - 290Baht



Hilltop Seafood Tom Yum - 250Baht

 

Cucumber with egg - 180Baht
 

Young Coconut - 95Baht

 

 

Hilltop Smoothie - 140Baht

 

The food there tasted okay and it's reasonably priced in my opinion. What I don't like about the food is that it was served too quickly and some of the dishes were cold. :( Maybe they pre-cooked most of the food. Sigh. But it's okay because the ambiance won me over. We also ordered a glass of cocktail and a bottle of Chang beer after our meal which costed 220Baht and 90Baht respectively. White rice was charged at 35Baht per bowl. We wanted to try as much dishes as we could so we shared one bowl of white rice. The total damage of the night was 1,749Baht inclusive of 10% service tax.

Went back to the hotel after our dinner and spent almost 1 hour in the lobby because the wi-fi in our hotel room SUCKS. He played games while I browsed and posted photos online. Haha. He wanted to go to some nearby cafe to buy me a slice of cake but then I declined his offer. Thinking back now, I should've accepted the cake offer. :( That was the 3rd time we celebrated my birthday together but he did not personally bought me a cake / slice of cake before. :( He said he would buy me a cake next year. :)

Speaking of our hotel room, I stepped on a piece of glass inside the bathtub and my feet was bleeding nonstop. Zzz. Bf went down to take first aid from the receptionist and informed them what happened. They didn't apologise and instead they said "You should be more careful". Wtf? SHOULD? Hello? Your hotel's bathtub has a piece of GLASS in it and instead of taking up the responsibility you said I should be more careful? Who would have thought that there would be glass inside a bathtub? Not forgetting to mention that there were ants on the table. So much for being a 4-star hotel.

That's all for Day 2! Will blog about Day 3 in another post.

P.S. Didn't check the spelling and grammar before I click publish because I'm too lazy. Haha.

Guangzhou Draft Itinerary (6 Days)

As promised, this is my draft itinerary for Guangzhou. :) Hope this helps!

Day 1

1. Ancestral Temple of Chen (陈家祠)
Subway: Line 1 to Chen Clan Academy Station (陈家祠) (Exit D to the main entrance)
Recommended time of visit: 45 mins
Operating Hours: 8.30AM - 5.30PM
Fee: CNY10

2. Shamian Island （沙面岛）
Subway: Line 1 to Huangsha Station（黄沙) (Exit F - 走到天桥对面通过去沙面岛的小桥）

3. 6 Banyan Temples (六榕寺）
Subway: Transfer station of Line 1 and Line 2 Gongyuanqian Station (公园前）(Exit B - walk 5 mins from subway to temple)
Recommended time of visit: 1 hour
Operating Hours: 9.00AM - 5.20PM
Fee: CNY5 (temple); CNY10 (6 Banyan Pagoda)

4. Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street （上下九路）
Subway: Line 3 to Changshou Lu （长寿路）
(Exit D1 - turn right and you will see the signal board about how go to the Holiday Inn Shifu Hotel. Walk along the street to the McDonald’s at the end of the street and turn left. This is Di Shi Fu Road that is next to the Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street.)
Operating Hours: Till 10.30PM

Estimated Total Admission Fee Day 1: CNY 55

Day 2

1. White Cloud Mountain (白云山）
Subway: Line 3 to Meihuayuan Station （梅花园）
(walk about 1200m to 白云山梅花园)
Recommended time of visit: Half-day
Entrance Fee: CNY 5
Other Fee:-
1. Cable Car: CNY 25 (upper); CNY 20 (lower); CNY 45 (round-trip)
2. Sightseeing Bus: CNY 10
3. Other places:-
 CNY 10: Yuntai Garden
 CNY 10: Bird Spring Valley Park (Mingchun Valley)
 CNY 5:   Moxing Ridge (Star-Scraping Ridge)
 CNY 5:   Guangzhou Forest of Steles
 CNY 5:   Peach Blossom Brooklet
 CNY 3:   Xinghai Garden

2. Tee Mall
Subway: Transfer Station of Line 1 & Line 3 - Tiyuxi Lu (体育西路）

3. Canton Tower (广州塔）
Subway: Line 3 to Canton Tower Station/Chigang Pagoda Station (广州塔/赤岗塔) - (Exit A)
Recommended time of visit: 1 hour
Opening hours: 9.30AM - 10.30PM
Ticket Price:-
1. Zone A-C (Ground – 32F) - CNY 50
2. Zone D (33F-67F) - CNY 100
3. Zone E (68F-107F) - CNY 150

Bundle Ticket Price:-
 1. Zone D + Spiderwalk - CNY 190
2. Zone E + Spiderwalk - CNY 230
3. Zone E + Ferris Wheel - CNY 260
4. Zone E + Mega Drop - CNY 260 
5. Zone E + 488 Lookout - CNY 280

Estimated Total Fee Day 2: CNY 50

Day 3

Chimelong Resort (Chimelong Paradise & Chimelong International Circus)
Subway: Line 3 to Hanxi Chang Long Station (汉溪长隆)
(Exit A - cross the overbridge to take free shuttle bus to the Chimelong Resort)
Free Shuttle bus: Every 10 minutes from 08:30 to 19: 40, and every 15 minutes from 19:55 to 22:15.
Park hours for Chimelong Paradise: 9.30AM - 10.00PM
Circus show time: 7.30PM - 8.50PM
Chimelong Paradise: CNY 250
Circus: CNY 280
Paradise + Circus: CNY 475

Estimated Total Fee Day 2: CNY 475

Day 4

1. Guangdong Museum (广东省博物馆)
Subway: Transfer station of Line 3 and Line 5  - Zhujiang New Town Station (珠江新城）(Exit B1 - walk 10 mins to the museum)
Opening hours: 9.00AM-5.00PM
Entrance fee: FREE (need to show passport)

2. Grandview Mall (正佳广场）
Subway: Transfer Station of Line 1 & Line 3 - Tiyuxi Lu (体育西路）
(Exit B - Intersection of Tianhe Road and Tiyu Road East)

3. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall（孙中山纪念馆）
Subway: Line 2 to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall Station (纪念堂）(Exit D)
Recommended time of visit: 45 mins
Opening hours: 8.00AM- 6.00PM
Fee: CNY 10

4. Yue Xiu Park (越秀公园)
Subway: Line 2  to Yuexiu Park Station (越秀公园)
(Exit B1 - to the main entrance of the park)

Estimated Total Fee Day 4: CNY 10

Day 5

1. Nansha Tian Hou Palace (南沙天后宫）
Subway: Line 4 to Jiaomen Station (焦门）
(Take bus Nansha No.4 to TianHou Palace East Entrance)
Opening hours: 8.30AM - 6.00PM
Fee: CNY 20

2. Lingnan Impression Park (岭南印象园)
Subway: Line 4 to Higher Education Mega Center South Station (大学城南站）
(Exit B - walk along Daxuecheng Zhongwu Road for about 800m to the park)
Opening hour: 9.00AM - 5.00PM
Fee: CNY 60

3. Beijing Road (北京路）
Subway: Transfer station of Line 1 and Line 2 Gongyuanqian Station (公园前）
(Exit C - walk along the road for 5 mins)

Estimated Total Fee Day 5: CNY 80

Day 6

1. Sacred Heart Cathedral (耶穌聖心主教座堂)
Subway: Transfer station of Line 2 and Line 6 - Haizhu Square (海珠广场）
(Exit B2 - walk west along Yide Road （一德路）to find the cathedral)
Opening hours: 8.00AM - 5.30PM

2. The Western Han Museum of Nan Yue King (西汉南越王墓博物馆）
Subway: Line 2 to Yuexiu Park (越秀公园）
(Exit E - turn right and walk 100m to museum)
Opening hours: 9.00AM - 5.30PM
Fee: CNY 12

3. Site of Nan Yue Kingdom Palace
Subway: Transfer station of Line 1 and Line 2 Gongyuanqian Station (公园前）
(Exit E)

4. Taikoo Hui Mall (太古汇)
Subway: Line 3 to Shipaiqiao Station (石牌桥）
(Exit to BRT Taikoo Hui -follow the sign)

Estimated Total Fee Day 6: CNY 12

Total Estimated Admission Fee for 6 Days: CNY 682

Websites which helped me in my process of planning are as follows:-
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/guangzhou.htm
http://www.guangzhoutravelguide.com/about_guangzhou

Also remember to download the app 'Guangzhou Metro' from the App Store. Not sure if this app is available for Android though.

Researching about Guangzhou makes me fall in love with that place already but sadly I'm not going there this time. :( Read this somewhere, 'You're not in China until you get cheated once by a Chinese'. It was hilarious. I actually couldn't stop laughing for several minutes after reading that statement. I've only been to China once and that was to Xiamen. It was a business trip so I couldn't comment much about the culture there.

That's all for now! My confirmed upcoming trips are Langkawi and Krabi. I really can't wait! :)

(Important) Steps to draft a travel itinerary

Hello. It has been awhile since I wrote anything here. I'm doing good so far. :) By the way, the bf suggested that I should start a new blog to record down all the places that we have been to and also for the purpose of sharing our itineraries with people whom rely on blogs to get information on the places that they're going *cough. me. cough* My reaction was like, "Nobody is going to read what I write" and "I don't have the time to blog" and "I am a lazy pig". However, I was quite surprised to see my Bangkok Itinerary post and Bangkok Day 1 & 2 post to be viewed so frequently; 164 and 211 counts respectively. That is like, woah. So yeah, maybe I could start sharing more of food and travel posts in my blog. :)

I remember mentioning about updating about my drafting of Guangzhou itinerary for the bf but sadly the itinerary is in my laptop. Will share it here when I have the time. Promise! I have a hard time drafting Guangzhou's itinerary because I'm a half-banana. Haha. I know a little bit of Chinese but researching about something in Chinese is quite difficult for me. But I really like researching about new places and then put these pieces of puzzles together. It's fun! So how do I draft out my itinerary? I follow a few easy steps to get a draft out and then update my draft accordingly as at when I have new details to add in. Here are the basic steps that I follow:-

Destination

1. List down a few places/countries which you would like to visit. 
2. Choose a destination. (this is quite obvious, I know. Haha.)
3. Wait for cheap flights. (seriously this is what I usually do. I'd wait. Hahaha)

Flight Ticket

1. Choose the travel date with the cheapest flight ticket. (I am a budget traveler, so no choice but to fly with Air Asia almost all the time and I usually buy my flight ticket during promotional period)

*To save cost, I usually don't purchase travel insurance, baggage and in-flight meals when I'm traveling within Malaysia. 

Drafting Itinerary

1. Find the list of attractions for the place you're visiting.
2. Find a hotel nearby the subway station (very important)
3. Read on lots and lots of reviews especially on Trip Advisor and Agoda before proceeding with your hotel booking. (extremely important)
4. Find the subway map (applicable only if there's subway of course)
5. Look for reviews on the places of attractions which you have listed down and eliminate whichever unnecessary (some places are really not worth your time if you have a tight schedule)
6. Finalise the places which you're going to visit and search for the directions to those places. (how to go there?)
7. To also jot down the admission fee (if any) and the operating hours for each place. 
8. After you have all the information as stated above, start to draw up a plan as to which places you would like to visit on Day 1, Day 2 and etc.
9. Estimate the known cost which you would have to incur for this entire trip i.e. total admission fee and total transportation fee. (at least you'd know how much you have to set aside when you're there)

A very important note:-

To ALWAYS know how much you have spent before the trip (on your flight ticket) and during the trip so that you won't overspend the next time you're there. 

But remember that your itinerary is only meant to be a guide. You can always choose not to follow it during the trip. I'm speaking from experience on this matter. I was so excited before my Korea trip to the extent that I spent too much time on my travel itinerary. So when my actual plan deviated from my planned itinerary, I got so fed up and it slightly ruined my mood for the entire trip. To stay calm when your plan is not being followed is difficult for people like me. However, staying calm is very important especially when you're traveling in a group. There is no point in being moody if other people refuse to follow your plan. The main objective of the trip should be to enjoy yourself and also to relax and not just to realise your itinerary.

I really hope that this helps some of you who are in the midst of planning your upcoming trip. :) Till next time!

林俊傑《只要有你的地方》

This is my favourite song for the time being. Meaningful song lyrics; touching movie trailer. You guys should really check it out in the cinema next year. The title of the movie is 消失的情人 (The Secret).

你是我肩膀堅定的力量
聽不到你的迴響 還真說不出晚安
懶洋洋 因為互相在依傍
時間怎麼過去 有你也不會冤枉
為誰辛苦為誰忙 只為了和你分享

只要你的淚光 照耀著我胸膛
只要我的生命 你肯讓我安放
不管外面風雨有多煩亂 日子過得再緊張
我的情緒 你的表情 就能釋放

只要在你目光 看得見的地方
我會永遠記住 要活得更堅強
要是人生難免有遺憾
有你在身旁 已經是最好的補償
你是我身影流浪的方向
汗水找到你的臉 世態炎涼也無妨
我抬頭 看你像看到月亮
你低頭 會不會想我 像思念故鄉
為誰辛苦為誰忙 眼中有對方不慌不忙

只要你的淚光 照耀著我胸膛
只要我的生命 你肯讓我安放
不管外面風雨有多煩亂 日子過得再緊張
我的情緒 你的表情
我們再不用隱瞞 卸下武裝

只要在你目光 看得見的地方
我會永遠記住 要活得更堅強
要是人生難免有遺憾
有你在身旁 試問我們還想怎樣
艱苦又怎樣 有你的地方 
人生就不需要什麼答案

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