The first trip of the year was a getaway to Batam, Indonesia with my college mates and we spent a good 4 nights. There were some hiccups in arranging this gathering as some of us were unable to secure PTOs in advance and while some did work emergency took over at the very last minute so it can’t be helped. Batam is actually a great place to unwind and things in general are affordable due to our strong currency. Later this year, I had also visited Yogyakarta as the trip to Vietnam got cancelled. I can see why Yogya is also popular with tourist with the likes of Jomblang cave and Borobudur Temple. 

I went to Korea for the first time in June to experience korean cuisine and fashion streets and managed catch up with an old friend of mine who’s pursuing education there. Fashion’s great – you get trendy apparels and accessories at affordable prices and you can get face mask almost at every corner of the street. Food is good too, soju pairing with korean bbq, army stew and cold noodles, you will probably run out of money before you run out of choices to eat! 

I also visited India for a work trip and got to meet the new batch of management trainees that will be joining our team. It was warming to get to meet old colleagues again after a year. Last but not the least, if you’re a super fan of spicy and flavourful cuisine like me, you will love it here. Just remember to try Dum Biryani, Pani Puri, Gulab Jamun and if you like BBQ and free flow stuff, I’ld say go for barbecue nation!

The trip to Bangkok was an impromptu one to celebrate my partner’s birthday. Bangkok is easily one of the top destinations in Southeast Asia due to its night and weekend markets (chatuchak) Moreover, travelling around is easy with their metro (the air-conditioning is super) and tuktuk. You can go for cab but the roads can get quite congested during peak hours.