Maui Island 2

 It's been awhile since my last post on Maui Island haha.

We went to some beaches in Kihei and I saw a real big turtle right at the shore as I stood up.

Escaping the winter and enjoy the warm climate here in Maui

It is a quiet beach here, but they do not have bathroom too.

We went for lunch after that because it is time for lunch. It is apparently has good review.

Not very good lol, but if you're hungry yes lol

Did some window shopping, they have some nice stuff right there

Look at this, I think it's so cute

We had this shaved ice thingy because it's hot and humid there just like KL though not as bad. It isn't really good but that's because I came from KL. 

Dinner is a time to hunt down food, a night market kinda thing. Ah I miss going to pasar malam back home. It's the same kinda vibe but this has very limited options. It would be better if they have more.

Maui Island 1

It's year end in 2023 and everyone's traveling out of city, state or country. For us, we've decided to escape the cold and fly to Maui Island, Hawaii instead. The fire a couple of months prior was brutal, but here we are. Malaysia is too far, flight ticket was expensive. So, Hawaii it is! My skin is used to tropically hot weather (though I will still complain when it's the Malaysian hot). Yet when it's cold, I still do the same because it's too cold haha.

A very domesticated airport. The car rental was downstairs, got a car and off we went. It was late when we got back to our accommodation, or at least it's late for Seattle time (they are a few hours behind us) which makes it 19 hours time difference between Malaysia and Hawaii. haha.

Our first stop of the day is Tinroof, a take out kinda place. People can be seen waiting outside, and many of them before us. It was quite a long wait due to the amount of people so let's see if it is worth waiting. Chicken was good, shrimp was good but noodles was just okay. Portion is generally smaller and pricey though.

Venue: Tin Roof, Maui Kahului

When one goes to Hawaii, the first day itself has to include a beach right? haha. I honestly can't remember the beach name for this. 

Then, of course this, for no reason.

Without forgetting a Hawaiian drink. Well, it supposed to go with some food, poke bowl but, the pictures came out terrible due to the exposed sunlight as we were just outdoor having our lunch without any covered or shaded area. Sad.

How I lost weight and fats

For the first time in my life 10 years ago, I went for a health check-up conducted by a former company I worked for and I was told that I was at borderline high cholesterol. Initially, I thought, it was my lifestyle I led for my entire 20s. It was of course. I gotta admit that I took advantage of being young, and being in the hotel industry for 2.5 years didn't help. On top of that, I ate whatever I felt like eating, I was also at the mamak during my college years and never will it cross my mind that, it wasn't just purely my lifestyle, it was in fact hereditary too. I was asked to reduce fast food and red meat intake, and I attempted by cutting down my fast food to a month once. Did that help? I maintained my lifestyle, but reduced my fast food intake and they came back the following year. Instead of showing improvement (but it's not possible by doing that nano step, I was too naive), the result came back with a jump from borderline to high cholesterol, skipping another level of slightly high. I was officially high risk at the age of 31.

I continue leading that unhealthy lifestyle. Reducing by that little in such a small scale will not make a difference (and without working out). Alcohol was a big chunk of my life too in my 20s. 

Fast forward to late 30s, I have the habit of eating when a really bad event befalls on my family to avoid family members worry. I shove food to my mouth just because I did not want others to be worried. 

Finally, I started meeting new people and making new connections. I have always been told I was too thin. Fact is, nobody knows that I am skinny-fat, a condition where I look thin on the outside but the fats are all hidden between all my organs as what people call as visceral fat. 

What did I do? I have to do something before I hit my 4th decade on Earth. I was in a lose fat program for 90 days. My lifestyle had 180 degrees change, with supplements and meal replacement. After going through that program, I now identified what food are considered unhealthy. People go for no carbs, no sugar, but is it sustainable? It's not. If low carbs and low sugar, it's do-able. The program was like this:

Low sugar

Low sodium

Low carbs

No processed food

No dairy

High protein

This means I was sacrificing all my desserts, switch my coffee from dairy to plant-based milk, vegetables, certain types of fruits, avoid deep-fried food with one cheat day. I'm a carb lover, so I would binge (but not to the extreme) on that day, sticking with 3 meals (binge on one).

The result after 90 days?

 

Nothing comes easy, no pain no gain. This was my pain, but also my gain. It was difficult kickstarting but if I wanna improve my overall health by 40, this was what I gotta do. That has been a very transformative journey as I have permanently changed my lifestyle

I weighed 56kgs when I first started, and 47 kgs when I completed the program with 3 visceral fat, reduced to 1. Body fats from 33% went down to 23%. Do I still munch and snack, and everything? Yes I do. Almost 2 years later, I am between 49 kgs to 50 kgs and have been this weight for the past 1 year. I have incorporated workout as part of my lifestyle. So, I would say, this is for the best.

Part 3: Bangkok Trip

Happy New Year 2024! It has been such a rollercoaster ride in 2023, with many big decisions, big changes and challenges made in 2023. Phew, what a change. What's interesting is that the monks I went to in the past said there will be a major change each time our age has the digit 9 in the second digit. How interesting! Indeed, it has for me in 2023. The older you get, the less interested you are with celebration, which includes New Year. It's just another day, another night.

Often times, I heard about Sukhumvit and finally, I'm in the area. This is a really eccentric and trendy Japanese-inspired cafe. They have gone into merchandising with coffee accessories like coffee machines ranging of different prices, coffee products etc. A great place to hang out for sure!

Met a Bumble friend who happened to be in Bangkok the same time as me. Yay!

Of course, without a doubt, I met my uni friends, where the mixed Teochews gather. I don't have many friends with Teochew blood but I came all the way to Bangkok to meet them. haha. Jokes aside, we had a really good time, reminiscing our uni days! Those times were good. 

Then, they brought us to this dessert place. Dang! My favorite - mango!

A mandatory photo with these 2. Not sure when is the next time I'll be meeting them again. I should honestly do it more. The fact that I do once in 10 years is beyond sad.

The next day, spent some time in an Australian cafe instead - Toby. Ah that's my late dog's name too! I love scrambled with coffee. So here I am. 

I don't remember Chatuchak to be like this, I guess it has changed, or I have memory problem I am not sure. Haha. Dropped by for more coffee but of course, how can it be good, just for the sake of I guess. Got some good deals from there though, so no complaints. Department stores are not meant for me, I wouldn't spend so much on clothes.

Next up, I went to this dessert shop, the Thai version of ABC in Cheng Sim Ei, located within the Chulalongkorn University district. I guess similar to University District in Seattle, Ewha University of Hongdae.

Not long after he went back to Bangkok, he got to see me again. Haha. 

The local food is a must! Cheap and good. Hainanese noodle thailand in Bangkok.

Small-scale, a little run down and dodgy, is my kinda vibe for good food. This place checks all the boxes.

Second round? Sure. I can't remember the name of the restaurant and bar, but here for some French pastry with cocktail before we call it a night.

Of course

Since Bangkok is named the most visited city in 2023, I visited as a very supportive neighbor. It was a good trip catching up with really old friends and a new friend. Vibrant, lively city as what I have known Bangkok as and it never disappoints. Perhaps, next time I should consider going with someone who has the same mentality as I am then it's way easier. Everyone is different, but to make things easier, let's stick to the people I am familiar with or people that travels the same way as I do. That's the takeaway. 

Part 2: Bangkok Trip

 Since I am on school break right now, here comes Part 2 from last year's trip.

From Icon Siam, we caught this boat to Chinatown (Yaowarat Road). It's like a mini cruise in a boat, it's not bad at all.

Here comes Yaowarat. When you see chaos, it means you're at a right place. The more chaotic it looks, the better it is. 

We were there early, even then, we had to line up. Amazingly popular with decades of history. I'm not a fan of this, so I couldn't tell if it's THAT great or it's nothing special.

I guess if you're a normal chinese, you would like it. But, I don't take spare parts and I forgot to tell them. So, haha.

The night comes, so does the life.

As a tourist, I like doing this wherever I am, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Vietnam. I have done those. And I will continue to do this. 

BTS.. they have upgraded their infrastructure and it's so great! But, this is actually expensive. For the well-connected line and not having to go through the traffic, I guess it's okay? The best part is it's all shaded. Locals there actually even do their workout there. Saw people jogging stations after stations. Damn!

Part 1: Bangkok Trip

When Covid hit, I didn't think that it was going to be this long. And, certain things were permanent. My last leisure trip was back in 2019 to Seattle. My last trip overseas was to The Philippines in early 2020 for a business trip. I was lucky I got to go on that trip because all travels were halted when I was there. Any trips that have yet to happen were canceled with immediate effect. Imagine the emptiness my passport is right now. No stamps, nothing, and it has gone to waste to renew for 5 years.

There were people I met online in 2022 and decided, hey, let's go to Bangkok. I haven't been to Bangkok since 2014. Man, that's been 8 years. I am talking in the 2022 year. 

That's the sky. And how I miss this. I sit by the window all the time. So whoever you are, do not try to take that away from me, especially long haul.

This was where we got food the first night. Siam Paragon. It's just another foodcourt. I was told, hey it's a great place for food. I don't know about that man. It's a foodcourt, in a mall. haha. Obviously, I do not resonate with them but that's fine. To each their own and I respect that.

We came to this newly-built place, Icon Siam where I saw it made its round in Instagram during Covid. It's so vibrant and lively, they were selling all sorts of things, from food like pasta, fried chicken to fruits, drinks and seafood. I meant, fresh seafood. 

The lobster they were selling. Damn! 

After walking around, came to a place at the center court, all sorts of coffee were there.

Having coffee as part of my blood, I can't say no to coffee. Got myself one, of course. 

Icon Siam is like Pavilion in KL, nicely decorated and made it feel Premium. Upper class market and tourists as their target market. 

I wasn't the tourist that was going to buy anything. Well, I did, from Victoria Secret but that was all. Once you walk out from Icon Siam, you see this view. This feels like a KLCC kinda thing, water fountain outside the mall. 

Of course, me. Back then, I was still with mask. I didn't want to but. Bleh. lol.

Places visited:

Siam Paragon

Icon Siam

Another goodbye

My last update on my job was 2 years ago when I left IKEA after a huge project I worked on which also happened to be my first legit and formal project I took on. From then on, I went to an e-commerce platform. If you're in Asia, you gotta work there to say you have worked in a large e-commerce company.

My mind wasn't at the best state when I attended the interview. But, I gotta do what I was hired for. I was lucky I got hired. haha. After 6-7 years of being around, it's still a start up culture. In comparison of PayPal, IKEA looks like a manual-labored company. I'm not going into the nitty-gritty stuff due to compliance and confidentiality (based on my own integrity, no NDA or anything like that). But, it came as even more of a surprise when I started working here.

Putting complaints of manual labor aside, you learn the most when being put in an environment like that. You don't maximize your learning from a well-established infrastructure because the AI helps you complete your job quicker, faster and more efficient.  

I continue taking on the project management role, swaying further and further away from Compliance. Well, in project management, specifically in the Fraud/Compliance function haha. I left after 1 year and 8 months. I have heard people leaving within 3 months and I get it. 

Anyone young, who has the drive and energy to put up with the effort and hours, go for it. Just don't expect things to be easy and chill. When it comes to learning curve, dang, there's a lot to learn even for someone like me (meaning not fresh grad). If you get a good lead, learn the most you can. They are the ones that make the difference and they make tough jobs more bearable.

That's where I worked. Be fully prepared for interviews if you plan to work there. 

Hanging up my tag and lanyard. Goodbye Eco city.

 Finally, the last time wearing lanyard. I was in the restroom haha. 

Day 4: Langkawi

 After a year of pause, here I am back with my mannerism. And, to finish up my Langkawi postings, of course. Haha.

We had a morning drive, quite a distance away from where we stayed. We first got to Pantai Tengkorak, it was such a gem but, the mother said let's go because it's such a dodgy place. Haha. What a waste. So, we ended up here, which, isn't entirely a bad idea. We still had the beach all by ourselves, with nobody meddling our business, the wind was breezy, weather was good.

The last time I went to Langkawi, I stayed here in Tanjung Rhu which isn't entirely cheap but had a good deal. The problem with it is, it's quite a distance from everything. Well, the weather had a shift, the rain is about to arrive. Before we even left the place, the rain came, and it was pretty heavy.

Back to our area, Pantai Tengah (is it?) haha. Weather wasn't entirely ideal but it was alright to chill for a little.

The most expensive coffee I had in a long time. RM18.50 for this but I was as desperate as heck. And I lost to temptation.

It's been a long time since I flew. Before this trip, it was my business trip to The Philippines in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit. During my trip, the company had a direction to cancel all trips globally. I was so lucky that I got to go for that trip. That was, of course, my last before the pandemic said hello to the world, to us with open hands.

Places visited:

Pantai Kok

Pantai Tanjung Rhu

Pantai Tengah

Perhaps, I should start doing my story telling in Seattle sometime soon eh?