In just over a week's time, I will be travelling to Malaysia with my family! In fact, by the time you read this, I'll already be there!
(Yes, this post is being written in advance and yes, I am finally getting more organised with scheduling my posts!)
We'll be in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city, for 6 days and my Dad has put me in charge of planning what we do during that time. There are a lot of different ways to plan for a trip overseas but here are just the ways I like to do it.
Pin a Whole Bunch of Images
Before anything else, I'll go on to Pinterest to scroll through images of the place I'm travelling to. That way I'll know what attractions to expect to see when I start doing more of my text-based research. If I'm feeling really inspired, I'll select images of my favourite looking places and arrange them on an A4 page in Photoshop. Just like the one I did below.
Make a Bucket List
I love goal keeping and I love checklists. If you're the same, then I highly recommend making a bucket list for your holiday. There are usually plenty of ideas for pretty much any place you search for on Pinterest. I'm thinking of creating a bucket list devoted solely to all the restaurants and dishes I want to try. I'm really looking forward to all the food I get to eat while I'm away!
Read Travel Guides on Your Holiday Destination
The Lonely Planet travel guides are always a great source of information. I already have a pocket book for both Hawaii and Beijing when my family and I travelled to these places in the past. Neither one of those trips would have been the same had I not bought those travel guides. I recently found one for Kuala Lumpur and have spent hours poring over it already.
Talk to People Who Have Travelled There
I've spoken to a few people who've been to KL. It always helps to get firsthand advice. You'll also get a better idea for the overall experience of a place. Guide books and online articles tend to be more factual than anything else and while that's great for research purposes, it's still nice to hear the stories people have.
Create a Detailed Itinerary
Once you've got a definite list of all the places you want to visit, make an itinerary out of them. Write out the dates for all the days you're away then allocate two or three attractions to each (depending on how big or small the attractions are). Consider location when sorting these out as you want to make it easy for you as possible to get from one place to the next.
Q: Have you been to KL before?
Thanks for reading!
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This post marks a very special moment in this blog's history. After 2 years of creating content for The AnnieChanie Blog, I have officially reached triple digits.
100 blog posts.
That's amazing.
When I first started blogging I dreamt of reaching this number, but with my wavering commitment and irregular posting I imagined it'd be a long time coming.
Prior to The AnnieChanie Blog, I tried three different blogs at three different times. Not a single one made it past 10 posts. This is why 100 blog posts is such a big deal to me. None of my other blogs got a tenth of the posts I've written for this blog. It was definitely last year that pushed me over the edge. In 2018 I made it my mission to have a regular upload day, and I think it's thanks to that that I'm writing this post today.
I've completed a lot of posts over the two year time period. Hauls, life hacks and even a DIY tutorial (it was one of my earlier posts...sadly not a very good one). There are posts that leave me scratching my head in confusion wondering what on earth I was trying to say, posts that I can't help but laugh at knowing what I know now, and posts that actually make me want to applaud my past self for.
It's pretty cool what can change over the course of 100 blog posts. I think my writing has definitely seen an improvement. I feel a lot more confident transferring my thoughts to the screen, articulating my ideas and revealing more of my personality through my writing. I've also started to see my blog in a whole new light. Rather than being a place that only I can have a say/input towards, I've tried to involve my readers and fellow bloggers a lot more. My "Introducing..." series and monthly quizzes are just two of the ways I'm working towards a more collaborative webpage.
It's so exciting to log into Blogger and see the little number beside "published" read 100. Perhaps in two more years, it'll say 200? Who knows! Anyway, I want to thank you all for reading and I'll see you all in my 101st post!
Q: How many blog posts have you written so far?
It's my first blog post of 2019 and I had initially wanted this post to be all about my 2019 resolutions. However since I was so focused on Christmassy posts during December and didn't get a chance to share my final progress report for my 2018 goals, I thought it'd be nice to dedicate this post to that instead. I'm treating this as a transitional post. This is my final salute to 2018. Bring on the new year!
1. Drink More Water Throughout The Day
I can confidently say that this resolution was a huge success. I've been taking my drink bottle everywhere and you can ask any one of my friends for confirmation on that. It has become one of my handbag essentials. I've also been having to refill it regularly throughout the day which just goes to show how much water I've been consuming.
2. Get my Restricted License
After Uni had finished for the year, my international friend asked if I could drive her car for her while she was back at home for the break. I was very quick to say yes to this! Because I've had her car to myself, I've been able to do a lot more driving. It's hard to believe that this time last year I wasn't even in the position to drive alone. It's amazing what can happen in a year.
3. Commit to my Bullet Journal
This is another resolution I'm quite triumphant about. After a whole year in my Leuchtturm1917, I've filled up about two thirds of the book. At the start of last year, I had very little faith I'd make it to June, let alone December. I'm so stoked that my first year of bullet journalling went so smoothly.
4. Learn How to Cook
I've decided to carry this resolution into 2019. I don't think I've made a proper meal since the mac and cheese I conjured up while flatting for a month. I definitely made progress last year but I still think there's a lot, and I mean A LOT, more work to be done.
5. Time Manage my Blog Posts Better
Ever since I took my small blogging break, I've seen a slight improvement in my posting schedule. Nowadays, I'll usually have the post ready a day in advance which isn't that much of a change but is still better than typing it up an hour before I want it to go live. It's not the outcome I was hoping for but it's satisfactory enough.
6. Be More Active on Social Media
This was probably the resolution that challenged me the most. At the start of last year, I very rarely commented on people's photos or tweets. I've definitely tried to be better at this but am still lacking consistency. On the plus side, I've been dedicating a lot more time to Pinterest and feel like my activity on there has been pretty good as of recently.
Q: How did you go with your 2018 resolutions?
Thanks for reading!
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