Choosing a Travel Destination

Wednesday 16 August 2017

How do you choose where to spend your limited leave days when there are a billion and one holiday destinations to choose from? Hazim and I were struggling to make a decision. There are just so many things to see, things to do, things to experience, etc. But there isn't much time... and definitely not enough money either.

I had August blocked for KL Fashion Week but I didn't want a minute to go to waste! I wanted a mini getaway--one free from both my day job and LMN, and one that both of us could enjoy. It was so difficult to pick a destination. We thought of Langkawi, Melaka, Penang, Cherating, Redang... and all the islands basically, and we even almost headed out to Genting Highlands for Good Vibes!



Hijab: Satin Silk in Red Razzle from @theduckgroup
Top: Topshop
Skirt: Innai Red
Glasses: Alora Collection

In the end, we picked Penang and we do not regret it at all! Here's what went down in the whole decision-making process:

1. It's all about the money

As much as I would like to say that money does not and should not control you... it sort of does. When I was a student, I used to go on holidays without properly managing my money. I used to tell myself that I would have gained experience so it would have all been worth it in the end, right? WRONG! Going to a destination you can not afford, is never worth it. 

We obviously weren't planning for a big trip because you gotta save for one of those and we had already spent on one last December, so we were able to write off a few of our choices. Langkawi was out of the question because hotels were expensive--St Regis Langkawi remains a dream for now.



2. Theme

We already flew to Koh Phi Phi earlier this year, so even though my heart wanted to go to the beach again, we thought another beach vacation would be a little redundant for 2017. *Scratches out all islands*. Although, it took a while to eliminate Cherating because they had a turtle sanctuary that I really wanted to go see.

We wanted something different. Something I wouldn't have gone to when I was younger (20 year old me would always choose the big cities). This time we wanted to see history and culture. We wanted to experience something new. Penang was the obvious choice, but I wasn't completely convinced.


3. Time

Time wasn't really a factor during this trip as everywhere seemed quite accessible. We flew to Penang using Air Asia and that took about an hour or even less. But the amount of time wasted travelling played an important part when we decided which island to hop to during our trip to Thailand. I really wanted to go to Koh Tao and this other island that took quite a bit of travel time. However, since we didn't really have much time to waste, we ended up going to Koh Phi Phi and it was still a wonderful choice.




4. Energy

The last thing that pushed us over the fence was just the sheer thought about how realistic our options were and the amount of energy that we had. Man, I really wanted to go catch Dua Lipa and The Kooks. But hey, I'm 27 with the energy of a lazy cat... I'm ALWAYS tired. There was no way I was going to enjoy a music festival when I was in dire need of some chill time... away from everything. 





Hijab: Chiffon in Blanc from dUCk
Top: An old top from Shop at Velvet
Belt: Asos
Pants: Topshop


All in all, we had such a good time in Penang. Thank you to everyone for your recommendations. We enjoyed the food, the people, the charming street art and our hotel was pretty neat too. What goes into your decision-making process when choosing a holiday destination?

Til our next adventure!


Love,



6 comments

  1. Hi Nabeela, would you mind to share how you bought things from Asos? Does it ship to Brunei via door-to-door or post office?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm I feel like shipping with Asos has been inconsistent. Sometimes they ship to the door but sometimes you'll have to pick it up from the post office. Usually, it's the latter. I find that smaller packages and those containing skincare will have to be picked up at the EMS centre. Timing-wise is also inconsistent, it can take a week to about a month to receive packages via standard delivery. If it's time sensitive, I pay for the express. Hope that helps!

      Delete
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