Maui Island 5

The final post! 

It's a beachy day, final one before we flew home the next day. 

A selfie for the last post. We went to Black Rock beach. It's crowded.

As the morning sleeps in and the afternoon comes, it got really hot. Would you rather have scorching hot weather or really cold? I would have chosen cold over hot in the past but Lord, I don't know anymore.

Yes, it's lunch time!

Then, the food.

This feels like a really Premium area. The beach is located just right in front of the hotel. This is the Kapalua Bay Beach. 

As we walk further, the path becomes rocky with lava rock formations. It's definitely a very scenic view. Also saw some interesting creatures while walking.

Next up, whale watching at Calypso Whale Watching in Wailuku where they offer snorkeling to Turtle Town apart from the whale watching excursion. We obviously did just the whale watching. I think it's about $60 per adult.

Managed to see some whales. The excitement while watching Free Willy is real.

Finally, as we approach the finishing line, the rainbow appeared. A perfect day to end the trip with, of course, we had really good food after that albeit overpriced.

Maui Island 3

So much has happened since my last post. US Presidential Election, the fall season came, the gray sky, as well as even South Korea's emergency declaration of martial law which was then called off a couple of hours later. It is crazy to think that something is always happening in some parts of the world at every given moment.

Since the world is going though such stressful moment, let's take a moment to go back in time, one year ago to Hawaii.

We went to the aquarium on Day 3. Spent a couple of hours there. My entire life, I was taught pronounced algae the British way. I learned from Maui Ocean Center that it is pronounced as "al-gee" lol. Location, Wailuku, Maui. Ticket priced at $45 per adult. 

Check out the deep blue sea where the sharks are. So many sharkies in here. 

All the fishies

It was rather warm in Maui. It was a really relaxing vacation. One thing to do is to book the accommodation with a beach walking distance. This beach was opposite our Airbnb. All we have to do is to cross the road. Kinda cool huh? It is to me, haha. Location: Kaipukaihina.

Selfie at the really hot beach, when the sun was right above. Isn't the smartest thing to do when your skin gets tanned really easily. Nobody believes me when I said my skin tans like the ice melts under the hot weather. 

My turn to buy dinner. This is the most creative restaurant name. It's called 'Da Kitchen.' haha.

It's been a year since, but I remember it being good, located at Kihei. Casual dining restaurant. Until next time. 

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. 

Day 2: Langkawi

After spending the first night in the hotel, let's start going places. In the past when I went to Langkawi, it's always getting drunk. Now that I am much older, I don't fancy those things anymore. Talking about getting older huh. haha.

Upon recommendation from the hotel's concierge, we are here filled with locals. This is their specialty, Roti Canai Sarang Burung special. 2 sunny-side up eggs, the bread is crispier than the regular roti canai and minced chicken. It was good! Damn. With so much things happening inside, it's RM 7. Not cheap but it's unique. 

After making our stomachs happy and full of energy, we headed over to Langkawi Sky Bridge. It was close when I wanted to take the cable car years ago. But, here I am now. Before going up, a note to take, it's all outdoor parking but there are a few types. The Premium parking is obviously more expensive, which is RM10 I believe? I went to the next one, which is RM5. The difference? It's just slightly nearer to the station. If you have the capability to walk, why not?

In the cable car. Price per pax for the cable car is RM45 if I'm not mistaken. Senior citizens get a discount. The view is great, overlooking the Andaman sea with the clear blue sky. There's a stop in the middle where it's nothing much to see. We didn't bother to get down because, it's just mid-way and there's nothing much there and the wait that comes after is perhaps, not worth it. We went straight up to the top with 15 minutes in total. Some gondolas are glass floor but I didn't get that. This cable car is said to be the steepest gradient in the world. The ventilation though, is just a small window on the top of each side which can be stuffy when it rains as you would close everything up. 

This is what I'm talking about. The mountains, valleys, sea and islands. It's all covered in that 15 minutes way up. When the weather is good, it's really pretty. 

Here we are up here at the highest point. It was really windy, therefore, hats off. Ignore the face haha.

This is a 10 - 20 minute-trail. At least, a little work out during vacation. Those with walking disabilities, you may take the glide which is an additional of RM6 to get to the Sky Bridge. It's not a hard hike but it's not a flat road so there may be challenges. Use the railings for assistance.

That's the bridge, super windy, I love it! Weeee.

Enjoying the cable car view going up and down haha. Okay so nearby here, there's this waterfall called Telaga Tujuh and in order to get to the waterfall is really steep. 

Next up, it's lunch time. I found this place with quite a good review so here we are to fill our stomachs. I took just a few bites due to my diet program haha. We ordered some really simple food and it's tasty! 

While driving to the restaurant earlier, I stumbled upon this place. It's a wide empty space and the ocean. Man, the wind.

Of course, the mandatory picture of me in it haha. The cloud is heavy and right after that, it rained. haha. After studying for 2 days, the rain doesn't last long like in KL. It's really just 5-minute rain. I have concluded it as the emotional Langkawi.

Next up is our alcohol shopping haha. There are so many duty frees around and we just don't know which to go. Teow Soon Huat doesn't look exclusive or extravaganza, but it was good in terms of price! We bought everything from there. The last time I was in Langkawi I came here too haha. Chocolates and alcohol. They own the supermarket too, which we bought our mineral water from and it's economical!

Dinner is super important when you're on a vacation. Quah in Kuah. With the mom, aunt and grandma together waiting. The line to this place Wonderland Food Store is super long. I learned from the past looking at how long we waited just to get in and another long wait for the food, we were there this time at 6pm. haha! After the meal 2 years ago, is it worth it? YES. If I can avoid, then we should haha. That's why we ended there at 6pm.

This is by the way, Chinese halal food to cater to the locals there. I love the squid. It's really bad for my diet but heck, I'm not there everyday, I don't eat it everyday. Everything was good except for the Lala that doesn't taste kamheong at all. This was also RM70+ haha. Prawns, squids, lala and vegetables.

We crossed the road where the car is parked and the variety of alcohol we see. The sight of it is lovely enough, especially the green ones on the right. It's RM11.50 if I'm not mistaken and KL is about RM 16.90.

We ended up taking these 2. I love 1664 Blanc as it's very fragrant. I didn't drink much except for just a few sips. I'm controlling like crazy as I have a timeframe to achieve my health goal.

It's day filled with activities. It isn't too hectic and isn't too chilled, it was just nice. No, we did not go to the 3D museum. I prefer something outdoorsy that we can do. We are blessed with the weather though, each time we get into the car, then it rains. When we are out and about, it didn't rain. Talking about perfect timing.

Places visited:

Roti Canai Otai - Kampung Bubor, Kedawang

Langkawi Cable Car

Langkawi Sky Bridge

Kuah Town Seafood , Kuah town

Teow Soon Huat Duty Free - Padang Matsirat, Kuah

Wonderland Foodstore - Pusat Perdangan Kelana Mas