About Author: Kristina

Website
http://www.thevagablond.com

Posts by Kristina

  • “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman An hour and a half by ferry from Phuket Town is a small island widely known to tourists everywhere. It was all but obliterated in the tsunami of 2004, but has recovered […]

    Love and Fear on Ko Phi Phi

    Posted on November 7, 2010 | 5 Comments
    “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~ Howard Thurman An hour and a half by ferry from Phuket Town is a small island widely known to tourists everywhere. It was all but obliterated in the tsunami of 2004, but has recovered […]

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  • “Imagine a place that defines graciousness, tolerance and aesthetic ideals. You’ve just imagined Thailand.” -Insight Guides Thailand I need to update these posts more often. I’m sitting in an internet cafe in eastern Siberia, bundled-up to the point that it probably looks as though there might be two of me inside all these clothes, writing about the time (not so long ago) I was wearing […]

    Phuket: The Quick and Dirty

    Posted on October 31, 2010 | 6 Comments
    “Imagine a place that defines graciousness, tolerance and aesthetic ideals. You’ve just imagined Thailand.” -Insight Guides Thailand I need to update these posts more often. I’m sitting in an internet cafe in eastern Siberia, bundled-up to the point that it probably looks as though there might be two of me inside all these clothes, writing about the time (not so long ago) I was wearing […]

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  • Malaysia’s capital city: vibrant, chaotic, cultural, concrete. In no particular order, the 8 things I learned in Kuala Lumpur: 1. STREET VENDORS HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOUR. “You looking for DVDs?” “No.” “Oh. Well maybe the DVDs are looking for you.” – – Well, hmm. I ain’t got nothing to say to that. ; ) Meandering through the dazzling colours and narrow alleyways of Kuala […]

    Malaysian Revelations: 8 things I learned in Kuala Lumpur

    Posted on October 20, 2010 | 1 Comment
    Malaysia’s capital city: vibrant, chaotic, cultural, concrete. In no particular order, the 8 things I learned in Kuala Lumpur: 1. STREET VENDORS HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOUR. “You looking for DVDs?” “No.” “Oh. Well maybe the DVDs are looking for you.” – – Well, hmm. I ain’t got nothing to say to that. ; ) Meandering through the dazzling colours and narrow alleyways of Kuala […]

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  • Pulau Perhentian. In the turquoise waters of Malaysia’s northeastern coast, these tiny islands are postcard paradise. Awash with pillow white sand and dotted with swaying palms, Malaysia’s hidden gem shines bright in the tropical sun. Now remember. It wasn’t exactly a breeze to get here. No. It was not. Take a gander here if you need a reminder, but otherwise suffice it to know that […]

    Paradise in Malaysia: Pillow-white Sand, Wheelbarrow Taxis, Fire Dancers, and Snorkeling like Sex

    Posted on October 11, 2010 | 4 Comments
    Pulau Perhentian. In the turquoise waters of Malaysia’s northeastern coast, these tiny islands are postcard paradise. Awash with pillow white sand and dotted with swaying palms, Malaysia’s hidden gem shines bright in the tropical sun. Now remember. It wasn’t exactly a breeze to get here. No. It was not. Take a gander here if you need a reminder, but otherwise suffice it to know that […]

    Continue Reading...

  • The Perhentians: Malaysia’s postcard islands. We’d heard about them from our Malaysian friend who we’d met in Seoul and crossed paths with in Singapore… she’s awesome. She said if we were looking for relaxing on an island whilst in Malaysia, the Perhentians were it. So we decide to take a night bus up the coast (the Perhentians are on the northeast part of Malaysia, way […]

    Overland from Singapore to Malaysia – A Race Against Time

    Posted on October 7, 2010 | 3 Comments
    The Perhentians: Malaysia’s postcard islands. We’d heard about them from our Malaysian friend who we’d met in Seoul and crossed paths with in Singapore… she’s awesome. She said if we were looking for relaxing on an island whilst in Malaysia, the Perhentians were it. So we decide to take a night bus up the coast (the Perhentians are on the northeast part of Malaysia, way […]

    Continue Reading...

  • “The open road is a beckoning, a strangeness, a place where a man can lose himself.” – William Least Heat Moon Over the course of September 25th 2010, three girls arrived in succession at the Singapore Changi airport. From different airlines, from different parts of the world, with nothing but backpacks on their shoulders, the three friends met in this tiny corner of the globe… […]

    Pig Leg Soup & Dom Perignon: This is Singapore

    Posted on September 28, 2010 | 8 Comments
    “The open road is a beckoning, a strangeness, a place where a man can lose himself.” – William Least Heat Moon Over the course of September 25th 2010, three girls arrived in succession at the Singapore Changi airport. From different airlines, from different parts of the world, with nothing but backpacks on their shoulders, the three friends met in this tiny corner of the globe… […]

    Continue Reading...

  • Stiff-legged and swollen-toed, the guests of Air China flight 992 plod, stretch, and waddle out of the pressurized metal tube. Eleven hours of breathing the same recycled air, and it’s lovely to walk out to Bethoven’s sixth symphony playing over the intercom. It’s calm here, in this international terminal, and it smells like cleaner, or something similarly offensive. The marble floors are so immaculate I can see the grey skies […]

    Purple Fringe and Shameless Gluttony in the Beijing Airport

    Posted on September 24, 2010 | No Comments
    Stiff-legged and swollen-toed, the guests of Air China flight 992 plod, stretch, and waddle out of the pressurized metal tube. Eleven hours of breathing the same recycled air, and it’s lovely to walk out to Bethoven’s sixth symphony playing over the intercom. It’s calm here, in this international terminal, and it smells like cleaner, or something similarly offensive. The marble floors are so immaculate I can see the grey skies […]

    Continue Reading...

  • One month, 10 days later, and I’m really starting to undergo Korea Withdrawal. It’s not pleasant, nor is there a reasonable antidote. I’m even starting to miss the hocking ajishis and the daily staredowns on the subway. I don’t miss the constant threat of a nuclear attack by the Mad Hatter Up North, but believe it or not, it’s not actually a big deal over […]

    Top 10 Seoul: The Unconventional List

    Posted on September 20, 2010 | 16 Comments
    One month, 10 days later, and I’m really starting to undergo Korea Withdrawal. It’s not pleasant, nor is there a reasonable antidote. I’m even starting to miss the hocking ajishis and the daily staredowns on the subway. I don’t miss the constant threat of a nuclear attack by the Mad Hatter Up North, but believe it or not, it’s not actually a big deal over […]

    Continue Reading...

  • Since returning from a year of living in Asia, I’ve started playing a “guess the ethnicity” game with myself. Before I moved to Korea, I will admit, I could not tell you if someone was Indonesian or Chinese, and that’s pretty bad. I’m not much better now, except that I can usually tell who the Koreans are in the bunch. So I’m sitting here in […]

    Chogi Issoyo & the Creepy Girl in the Coffee Shop.

    Posted on September 13, 2010 | 1 Comment
    Since returning from a year of living in Asia, I’ve started playing a “guess the ethnicity” game with myself. Before I moved to Korea, I will admit, I could not tell you if someone was Indonesian or Chinese, and that’s pretty bad. I’m not much better now, except that I can usually tell who the Koreans are in the bunch. So I’m sitting here in […]

    Continue Reading...

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