Staten Island is known for its excellent take out restaurants. Specifically Italian food and Chinese food restaurants are a level of tasty one or two notches higher than the same take out in Manhattan. I'm sure the other boroughs do justice to these ethnic foods. My personal experience is with the Staten Island version and the Manhattan version. Luckily, after five weeks in Malaysia, I can officially say I'm intimately familiar with the Malaysian version!
Read MorePangkor, Penang & Langkawi Malaysian Islands
Hype, hype, hype. "Langkawi: paradise", "Penang: amazing everything", "Pangkor: I would live there forever." After my two months in Mexico and my thesis on dealing with hype, I knew to not take anything to heart. This time around, I was able to listen, nod politely and even smile genuinely. I knew that the people recommending these places had the best intentions in mind. It was just their level of judgement is perhaps not as refined as I would like. I now refer to this as "travel judgement".
Read MoreMasjid Jamek mosque in the center of the city. Confluence of the two muddy rivers happens right here.
Kuala Lumpur: Muddy Confluence
So many versions of so many itineraries have come and gone at this point. I have found the planning process sometimes overwhelming for my brain cells. Other times, I have found bliss in knowing that I can go anywhere (yes, it’s that simple). In the case of Kuala Lumpur, lovingly referred to as KL by its residents and visitors alike, this city chose me…
Read MoreTaipei
"What’s with the surgical masks?", I keep thinking to myself. I've seen them in Chinatown in NYC. I know that folks there wear them to prevent others from catching their cold. Oh, there’s an announcement on the subway telling people to wear surgical masks if they have a cold or cough. "Thankfully everything is repeated in English!", I gratefully reflected. Wait, there are a lot of people on the subway wearing masks. Do all of these people have colds?
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