8 TIPS AND TRICKS FOR PLANNING YOUR FIRST TRIP TO EUROPE

If you haven’t heard by now, after spending nearly 3 years in Asia, I’m getting ready to pack my bags and visit my 3rd continent– Europe! You have no idea how excited I am. I’ve always thought Europe, particularly France, would be the first place I would travel to, especially after spending three years learning French! […]

THE CHARMING CITY OF MELAKA

Located almost between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, Melaka is one of Malaysia’s two historical cities alongside Georgetown in Penang. Now considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Malaysia’s oldest city is steeped in multicultural influences. This port city has not been colonized once, nor twice, but three times by the Portuguese, Dutch and British. Its strange colonial […]

A LESSON IN JAPANESE CULTURE: IT’S NOT A JAPANESE SOUVENIR, IT’S AN OMIYAGE!

–People have been responding really well to a lot of my articles on Japanese culture. Since Japan is a country that fascinates many people, myself included, and my degree is in Japanese culture, I’ve decided to write a series of posts delving a bit deeper into the culture than what most people would see when […]

A DAY FIT FOR A PRINCESS: HINA MATSURI

As the store shelves become devoid of Valentine’s Day chocolate in Japan, the displays are quickly replaced by ones of elaborate dolls. What are these dolls for you may ask? For the Hina Matsuri– which unlike Japanese Valentine’s Day, is a festival I love! WHAT IS HINA MATSURI Each year on March 3rd, Japan celebrates Hina Matsuri (雛祭り), also known as “Girl’s Day”, “Peach […]