Jacqkie | Travel and Lifestyle

Love,  Jacqueline Rowena @ Jacqkie.

I sneezed the minute I walked into the apartment. The parquets, broken and disbanded, were all over the place. The windows were dusty, and I remember asking - what year was this ceiling fan installed? It was the type of ceiling fan that came with an attached fluorescent light and the only way to switch the lights on was to tip your toes and extend your fingers up so you could pull the strings down.  That kind of ceiling fan.  One of the wall was suffering major leakage where rainwater would seep in and create bubbles around it. It was a pain then, and little did I know the pain would stay. Now that I think about it, why was I even viewing the place at that time? It surely wasn't for me, probably my brother who wanted a place. It was not until I saw the view that everything an uncle family friend said, (who was also the realtor) made any sense.  That's the road to home, I thought.  I didn't realise how near it was to my family house and to everything. And because of ...

For a brief second, I forgot how young I am.  I think that's what life does to you, subconsciously, these things don't matter anymore. So long as you're up and awake in the morning with one or two things in tow for the day - life is okay. And okay is honestly, good enough.  But this year, unlike the year before and the other years before it - came forcefully. At least in my lifetime. January jolted, February fazed but it was March that made everyone remember this truly iconic moment in our life. It made most of the world turn into a standstill. I had just came back from a 10 days trip to Melbourne + Adelaide Australia, and grazed many airports, many international airports in fact - and arrived home safely only to face the music my workplace or nation was facing.  Every month became more uncertain than the one before. March came. Day by day, the pandemic demanded more from us. More attention, more action, more loss. Within days, many have succumbed to it. Within weeks, muc...

I've been busy rediscovering Kota Kinabalu, and Sabah in general ever since the travel restrictions have been lifted. Mainly because everyone is having the BEST of prices! 😋 And I mean, THE BEST . This seems the perfect time to visit all the places I've had many excuses not to, expensive, crowded, far, etc.  This time... I discovered one of Kota Kinabalu's hidden gem, it's first and honestly the most legit industrial and rustic hotel in Kota Kinabalu, the Ibis Styles . Located within the beating heart of Inanam, and essentially along the busiest Tuaran-Inanam bypass, the location is perfect to cater to the demands of its bustling area.  For first impressions, this 3 star hotel is unlike any other sleek sparkly hotels. It is bold in design, with its bared brick as its entire exterior, complemented with lush landscape at the entrance, and bared cement walls in all rooms with simple but functional smart room designs. Including, a steel pipe as desk light! 😍 I had the opp...

Ever since I posted the photos of me visiting Semporna , some friends have asked me about it. Mainly on where I stayed. I would usually stagger (read: delay) my posts for months but I felt the need to update this particular trip much faster than others.  Simply because it is becoming a very popular Malaysian destination. And I mean very. I also thought this would slowly help Sabah get its mojo back, if not in the near future, fellow Malaysians can plan for next year! 😊 Long story short: I stayed at Lato Lato Resort!  There's honestly no ingenious reason for this choice, I stayed here because it was the only thing I could find on Booking.com or Airbnb 😂 I was browsing through some houses in Airbnb and found this resort with multiple reviews and thought, wow looks good and not bad price!  It's a 360 degree sea view 😍 Plus, remember my first post about getting to know Semporna? I. Really. Didn't. Know. Anything. About. Semporna! Nothing. Not how many islands are there, ...

I can't believe I've never been to Semporna Islands 😱 For one, I am a Sabahan Bornean, born and raised here. Secondly, it's only 45 minutes flight + 2 hours drive away from home, where as I've been as farther as to Europe. How is that possible? There's a term for what's going on at the moment, post pandemic. It's called 'Harga Runtuh' . For Malaysians that understand this, this is basically the time when all prices are slashed down to 90% from its original prices. The time to make some cash flow and not necessarily revenue, because things will never be the same and the earlier we know this the better. But we can minimise damage or cushion the damage our businesses are facing, which most industry players are doing. Slashing prices, adding more value.  That means for the rest of us travellers, BETTER TRAVELS! And I mean it! With the perfect timing and dates, better discounts, and little to no tourists (again, timing) - this is truly the time that trav...

As the pandemic ravages through every little thing, a small community I am part of becomes no exception. For many years, we tried to sustain it with the objective of it being an educational platform. We started in 2013, and have created so many fond memories from. I became a president one term, and a public relations vice president another.  That was the only thing that kept me sane in my workplace. When we're meeting up, we don't talk about work at all . Not about business goals, but about our livelihoods, our friendships and many things that are far more important. It's a distraction, even without having to leave the workplace.  It's the Toastmasters Club 💓 What started as a platform to teach one another English, build confidence and essentially speaking in front of an audience grew much more than that. We became friends, and mentors, both in the club and in life. Everyone was humble and relatable. You drag the walls down of them as colleagues, you begin to see them ...