"And We Danced All Night To The Best Song Everrrrr....."

So anyone who knows me knows that I really just love boy bands.  When I was little, I was OBSESSED with Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, 98 degrees, etc. etc.  I used to tear out those pictures from Tiger Beat magazine and cover my walls, floor to ceiling, with photos of my favorites.  Well, even at 27, I'm unashamed to say my love for boy bands is still alive and well.  Ha!  

I wasn't a One Direction fan until I came to Cambodia and started listening to iTunes radio Top 40 station.  I kept hearing songs by them that were soooooo catchy, I'd find myself singing them occasionally.  I found their new CD "Four" at the market, and for $1.50, I figured why not, so I  starting listening to them while running and doing exercises at the gym.  Well, in February, I found out they were coming to Bangkok as part of their world tour.  Bangkok is a short one-hour flight away from Phnom Penh and a huge, fun city to escape to for a weekend.  After trying and failing to convince any of my close friends here, I'd given up on finding fellow boy band fangirls to attend the concert with me.  By accident, I was talking about wanting to go to the concert with a friend when she told me she knew some girls going.  One of the girls I had meet briefly here and there around town and the other was a stranger to me.   Knowing these girls were likely some of the coolest girls in Phnom Penh (hello, they were going to Bangkok for the concert....), I decided to send them a FB inviting myself along.  

Not surprisingly, they welcomed me to the fold (again, so cool..ha!).  They left a few days early and spent  couple of days doing things around Bangkok, and I finally joined them on Friday evening.  I took an evening flight out of Phnom Penh and arrived in plenty of time to settle into the hostel and grab some incredible Thai street food for dinner.  

On Saturday, we decided to hit the malls.  Having already been to Bangkok and seen all the "touristy" and culturally important things, we opted for some shopping and eating.  I am leaving for New Zealand in a few weeks where it will be autumn, so I knew I needed to do a little shopping and get some things for the cold weather.  We also got distracted by the immense amount of American food in the food court and ended up eating (impressively, I might add) McDonalds, Krispy Kreme, and Starbucks before noon ('Merica!).  After spending some money and buying some things here and there, we decided we needed to nap and store up some energy for 1D; we wanted to be fully prepared to scream, dance, and just over-all fan girl out at the concert.  We went back to the hostel and proceeded to read books and take 2+ hour long naps.  Tough life, huh?  

After getting ready, we jumped in a cab and heading to the arena.  I was a little concerned because it's an outdoor arena, and it's hotter than you-know-what in Bangkok/SE Asia in general.  But we were so high up in the nosebleeds, we had a great breeze! Haha.  We got there early to check out the scene and pick up our tickets and luckily even had enough time to buy cutouts of our favorite 1D members as well as get some awesome, glittery face tattoos.  There was a moment, while sitting on the ground getting a glitter face tattoo that read "Harry", surrounded by 13 year old Thai girls, that I thought to myself..."you are a 27 year old successful attorney....is this appropriate?"  Then I thought, "HELL YEAH!."  And that was the end of that :)  I'm all about doing stuff for the sake of a good story and adventure, so I hope that regardless of my age or status, I never lose my sense of fun.  I love laughing and being silly, and if you know me, know that I'm EASILY convinced to do about anything.  

We heading in to the concert to find our seats, and after climbing stairs for a good 20 minutes, we arrived!  Probably the best part about the whole concert was the two 14 year old Thai girls who sat behind us.  They immediately befriended us, telling us it was their first concert.  They LOVED One Direction, like for serious....LOOOOOVED.  They knew every, single word of every, single song.  Please note that this is not an exaggeration, I'm telling you the God's honest truth.  They had taken a bus to Bangkok from their home 200 miles away.  They were so pumped, and their excitement made us excitement....so basically we were a group of 5 (some in our late 20s and other in their early teens) screaming and laughing and taking massive amounts of selfies.  Go ahead and take a moment to imagine this in your head....it's hilarious, huh?  

Anyways, the concert was a blast.  Regardless of your taste in music, the One Direction songs are catchy and fun to dance to, so that's exactly what we did.  They played for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, ending with "Best Song Ever" which really brought down the house.  Ha! After the concert, we finally caught an empty cab and headed back to the hostel.  We proceeding to wake up the whole hostel room with One Direction singing and making our cutouts dance to the tune; everyone really loved it (not).  

Here are some pics from the concert. 

With the guys before the show.  They were so happy we made it.  

Fellow Fan Girls. 

CAN YOU SEE THEM?! Haha, me either.  They were the size of ants. 

Glitter tattoo?  Check.  Harry Styles dancing cutout?   Check.  I'm ready! 

Our new friends :) 

On Sunday, we wanted to take advantage of Bangkok and it's selection of great restaurants, so we opted for brunch at a place called Roast.  We had the most amazing brunch and coffee there.  After about a 45 minutes wait (which was well worth it), we gorged ourselves on fabulous lattes and lemonade, french toast and pulled pork burgers.  Wow.  It was incredible.  I was also rocking my Kentucky jersey (since it was game day and all), and met a family from the US.  The husband/father used to live in Kentucky when he was in the military about 20 or so years ago.  He loved it (of course) so we talked about bourbon, basketball, and how awesome, in general, Kentucky is.  After our meal, we packed up our stuff and heading to the airport.  We spend some of our last remaining Baht on some souveniers for our friends back in Cambo, boarded the plane, and began to come down from our boy band high.   

Expresso Latte.  Ice cube expresso and fresh milk.

Strawberry and banana stuffed french toast with fresh maple syrup and whipped cream. 

Gosh, it was so good. 

In the airport.  Got some funny looks.  But whatev...YOLO. 

Overall, it was a great and hilarious weekend.  I really enjoyed getting out of Cambodia for the weekend.  And I had the best time with Janay and Sophie!  No regrets! 

Penang, Malaysia

Back in February, I had the pleasure of doing some solo travel to Penang, Malaysia.  I flew out on a Thursday evening and stayed until Sunday.  It was kind of fun to travel by myself for a weekend, see what I wanted to see, go where I wanted to go, and read lots of books and lay in my comfy hotel room.  I scored a sweet deal on Expedia at the Museum Hotel in Penang which is a hotel that is literally a private museum.  It's also gorgeous and old and full of antiques, so obviously I loved it so, so much.  I had a really comfy bed, HBO, and AC that made the room absolutely freezing (and glorious).  

Hallway to my room.

I was obsessed with the tile floors everywhere in Malaysia.

Lobby

Lobby. 

On Friday morning, February 13, I slept in and read my book then decided to head to a walking lunch food tour.  Malaysia is a foodie's paradise, and I was overwhelmed at all the blogs, travel articles, etc. that I had read with recommendations upon recommendations.  I thought a food tour would be a good opportunity to walk around the city while trying all the "must-try" foods of Malaysia.  There were just 3 of us on the tour which was great because our guide catered to our interests, and we were able to ask lots of questions and get other food recommendations.  I was so full after our tour that I barely ate anything the rest of the time sans some delicious coffee and desserts at a cafe.  

Char Kway Teow (a popular Malaysia fried noodle dish).

Bowls and bowls of Indian food in Little India.  Delicious.

Nutmeg juice with a salted plum.  It was not my favorite. 

Local Market. 

Otak Otak (fish custard curry wrapped in banana leaf and steamed) & Asam Laksa (rice noodle soup with spicy tamarind & fish broth).

Cendol (shaved ice, coconut milk, sweetened red beans, green pandan-colored mung bean noodles, and Malaccan Palm sugar syrup). I loved this.  It was so cold and delicious.  A real treat after walking around in the heat.  

Ambra Juice with a salty plum inside.  It was pretty sour and tangy.  Not my favorite, but definitely better than the nutmeg juice.  

Pork and the nastiest egg you'll ever eat in your WHOLE life.  

The egg is called a century egg, which is sort of cured by changing the ph to a base by using lyme and ash.

Murtabak: (mix of meat, eggs and spices wrapped in a roti served with pickled shallots and curries).

After the food tour was finished, I decided to walk around and tour a mansion.  I went to the Pinang Peranakan Mansion.  I borrow the follow bit from their website, "At the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, the typical home of a rich Baba of a century ago is recreated to offer a glimpse of their opulent lifestyle and of their many customs and traditions. With over 1,000 pieces of antiques and collectibles of the era on display, this Baba-Nyonya museum is also housed in one of Penang’s heritage mansion of eclectic design and architecture. Built at the end of the 19th century by one of local history’s famous personalities, the ‘Hai Kee Chan’ or Sea Remembrance Store had once served as the residence and office of Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Kwee. Though not a Baba himself, his Chinese courtyard house was much like a typical large Baba home of eclectic style, incorporating Chinese carved-wood panels and English floor tiles and Scottish ironworks. Having survived the many decades of neglect and decay, the mansion has now been restored to its former glory of a stately home."   It was beautiful, and I was completely in love with the color.  

Pinang Peranakan Mansion. 

Kitchen inside the mansion.

Kitchen.

I was obsessed with the tiles that was inside the house, so please forgive all the pictures of the beautiful tile throughout the mansion.  It was too pretty and every room was different and unique.

The inside courtyard. 

Fancy bed inside the bedroom. 

I was obsessed with umbrellas as decorations.  So fun. 

After walking around the touristy area, I decided to head to the mall.  There aren't a lot of clothing options in Phnom Penh, so I had discovered the mall in Penang had an H&M so I wanted to go badly.  I recycle about the same 14 or so outfits here, and most of my clothing has holes or stains.  About 99% of the time I feel gross & dirty, so I thought it would be nice to treat myself to a couple of new items of clothing.  This is a priority when you travel to "big"/more modern cities in SE Asia.

On Saturday, February 14, I started my morning at a cafe with some delicious coffee, homemade Greek yogurt and fresh mango.  This was delicious.  I ate it maybe 4 times the whole weekend.  It also made for a great snack.  And it was in a cute little jar, so of course I loved it.  Serve me food in some type of cute container...and I basically will love it and take lots of pictures of it :) Ha!

Penang has lots and LOTS of street art.  It's fun to walk around the city and snap pictures of the funny, creative murals.  I decided to spend most of the day walking around and enjoying some of the street art.  Here are some of the highlights.

For those of you that did't know, Jimmy Choo was born in Penang, Malaysia, to a family of shoe makers.  He was born Jimmy "Chow", but his last name was misspelled on his birth certificate.  His father taught him to make shoes, and he completed his first pair at age 11.  And the rest is history.  He is one of the most famous shoe designers in the world and is now based out of the UK which is where he went to school. 

Little India decorated for Chinese New Year. 

Some of the best iced coffee I've had in SE Asia.  I visited this shop on the food tour and returned a couple times during the weekend.  It was strong, a little sweet, and incredibly cold and refreshing.  Loved it. 

Godess of Mercy Temple decorate with Chinese lanterns for the New Year. 

After walking around and looking at Street Art, I decided to visit one more mansion called the "Blue Mansion."  It's true name is Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. The Circa 1880s mansion built by the merchant Cheong Fatt Tze at the end of 19th century has 38 rooms, 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases & 220 vernacular timber louve windows.  The color of this place is beautiful; these pictures don't even do it justice.  As like the other mansion, it's full of antiques and displays explaining the history of the home and it's inhabitants.  It was fun to walk through and definitely an iconic home in Penang.  

I decided to head back to the hotel after walking for a few hours to rest my legs, shower, read a book and relax.  I stayed in my room for a while, then decided to head back to Little India to enjoy my last dinner in Malaysia.  I let the waiter surprise me with dinner.  He brought me a few things to try.  My favorite was probably the mango lassi.  I think I downed that thing in like 2 minutes flat.   

I passed the most stunning and amazing store in town.  Photo was necessary. I love when stores just cut right to the chase and let you know exactly what's inside...haha!

Last Indian meal in Penang.  Yum. Yum.  Mango Lassi pictured. 

Sunday morning was pretty laid-back; I had a late-morning flight so I just slept in and left for the airport where I enjoyed a Dunkin' Donut and Starbucks coffee.  

Overall, I mostly ate and walked around all weekend in Penang.  I felt like I got to see a good portion of the city, but I wished my time had been longer!  I always feel like there is too much to see and try and never enough time.  It was a great weekend away.  I was happy to have had a small taste of Malaysia.