Jacqkie | Travel and Lifestyle

A week before actually travelling to Hanoi I spent my days, nights, hours and seconds Googling about everythhingggg. It was like a crash course of Hanoi. Where to stay? Where to eat? What to do?! Rush, rush, rush, type, type, type.  It was the fastest itinerary I've ever done! Even though I had saved enough, I was still very thrifty at that time after having to travel to Shanghai, to KL and then to Hanoi. I was stubborn so I tried to push the envelope of travelling for my birthday as well while keeping it minimum. Always travel within your means guys or you'll have to swallow your own saliva. While I was busy looking out for the best deals possible online - I read tons of blogs, I even found my dear Tho and was immediately attracted to how she wrote and spoke about food! Please follow her at tholovesfood.wordpress.com :) While getting lost in all of the blogs, which I diligently read line by line, I saw people talking about HanoiKids.org which offered free half day or f...

I will be honest.  My influence to visit Hanoi was inspired by Mr Bourdain (again), not from the legendary visit that the world knew so much, on stools with Mr Obama over Bun Ca. But from No Reservations, after a whole day of crazy at work with a bowl of ice cream thinking how blegh the world could get. That episode, he was in Hoi An, cruising through the buzzing streets enjoying the good things in life; good food. That looks so good I said. There are so many good things in life. Like great new friends, new hair, new clothes, a good dinner, some good movies, and GOOD FOOD. This is a terrible introduction, but the food photos are coming, so please bear with me. I wanted to be more impromptu and spontaneous in life, and this was that trip that I was. I decided on a few days before the actual date, and had very little research. Which is quite unlike me, I usually spend months ahead researching for the places I'm visiting, learning a thing or two about their culture (except fo...

Dear Tho, Thank you for having me in Hanoi, and for taking care of me within the few hours that I stepped onto Hanoi. Thank you for introducing to me the wonders of Vietnam cuisines, welcoming some of the most amazing culinary experiences I've ever had into my life. Now I can't wait to experiment and try to make my own Vietnamese cuisines (they seem quite easy but who am I kidding!!). Thank you for navigating me through some of the oldest alleys, into the beautiful colourful buzzing streets of Hanoi and for inviting me to have meals with you in the most awkward positions I've ever been in. Knee to knee, elbow to elbow on one of the smallest tool I've sat on with monoxide blowing to my face. Ah, life is very good :) I have never lived enough, the least, till I did all of that. Thank you again. xxx  Thank you for introducing me to each and every one of the dish we've explored together. You were so FUNNY, patient, kind and obviously knowledgeable about everyth...

Man this journal is becoming a complete and wholesome travel journal day by day. And I'm not so sure about that.. Eventhough I did change the title to 'Travel with Me' , I'm not sure I want to completely disconnect my honest thoughts away from this space and focus completely on my travels. (which are honest account of them also anyway) *emoticon thinking face* Anyway, I turned a year older last week and in true Jacqkie fashion, I hopped onto the plane to go somewhere new, somewhere foreign, and made some new friends :) And yes, I flew to Hanoi, Vietnam for my birthday. By myself. I didn't had the time to update everyone about it (except for mum, sister and bro) and a handful of girlfriends, plus the moment I arrived Hanoi, I was so overwhelmed by the traffic that after a day of out in the streets of Hanoi, I was so beat I can't even form proper updates on Insta... I have decided that this trip is purely.. FOODCATION.  Yup, you saw it right. As if I have...