Hug those you love

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
For the full article, please click on this link
To read some readers' responses, please click here

This was such a difficult article to write: could you tell?

I still keep Pakcik Norhuda's last sms to me.

Laidback Charm

Town Break, Going Places (MAS in-flight magazine), October 2008

If there was ever an article borne out of serendipity, this must be it.

Last year, Philip and Siew Ee read an arty I wrote about Sungai Petani and asked on a whim: would I like to follow them to her hometown Kluang for a weekend getaway?




















This travelogue is the result of that spontaneous trip :)




















I love the quaint town, non sequiturs, anomalies, quirks and all: Every shop seems to display the Malaysian flag alongside the Johor one! Somebody dish out a patriotism award, quick!




















Everybody was so lovely. How can I ever repay all of them for their generosity?

From the Lims who were my hosts, to the Kluang Tourism Department secretary who gave a lift to a stranded stranger with little persuasion, to the enigmatic Mansor Poh, a Johor icon I got to know under completely serendipitous circumstances, Kluangites are shining beacons of true Malaysian hospitality.

To Philip, Siew Ee, Uncle Lim, Li Poh, Jit Pang, Barney, Jit Chiang, Ash, Mansor, Kelvin Oon (for those fantastic photographs!), and anyone else I may have inadvertently missed out:

Thank you for reminding me why I love travel writing. As a writer, I am occasionally privileged to enjoy the perks of the job: glitzy hotels, five star restaurants, and glamorous itineraries.

But nothing could ever match the heartfelt warmth of the people who make going places such an joyful affair.















Must cam-whore lah! (Hamming it up with cobbler Ng Chen Lim, of Kedai Kasut Guan Kim)

If anybody wants the full text, you're welcome to write to me at alexandra.lywong@gmail.com

Skypark at Subang

The latest jewel in Malaysia's aviation crown
MillionaireAsia, Issue 3, Volume 1, 2008

A Simple Life

Local Traveller, Going Places (MAS In-flight Magazine), May 2008

Sometimes, life just sneaks up on you and whisks you away on an adventure.

Well, Pulau Ketam - a quaint, quirky little island that is entirely road-less (i.e. carbon-monoxide free!!) - was serendipity in motion, and one of the reasons I love what I do for a living: travel, eat, and partake in other people's lives.

Oh and my folks were spot on: Good manners always take you far. So the next time you see an old man, remember to give up your seat.

You never know where it will lead you :)

Here are some pixels from my personal collection:




















Yes, everybody - from two-feet-tall pipsqueaks to adults, pranced around brandishing these strange umbrella-cum-hats, while nobody bats an eyelid!















They maximise every inch of their real estate, all right.















Aww. No words required.















My venerable host (can you guess which one?) and his homies :)















Playing tourist, ahem. On my return visit, to hand out copies of the magazine when the article was printed.

*If you'd like to view the full text, please email me at alexandra.lywong@gmail.com and I'll be most happy to share it with you.

Nostalgic over Nosh

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
To read the full article, please click here
To read some readers' responses, please click here

On track for adventure

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
To read the full article, please click here

Pay it forward

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
To read the full article, please click here

Noosa where?

Travel, The Star Weekender, 9 August 2008

Main story
Main story 1
Main story 2

Sidebars
Camels
Montville

First, my apologies about the abysmal quality of the "scan" (Actually I photographed it and uploaded it) It looks like pickled vegetable now because my parents riffled through the pages umpteenth times. No doubt, chuffed by the sight of their precious daughter (barf) splashed all over the papers.

This has got to be one of the nicest junkettes I've had the good fortune to experience. Not just because I've always loved Australia, but because I never thought I'd encounter so many people on the same wavelength on what-I-thought-would-be-a routine media trip. The journos I met were neither jaded or cynical, the PR folks were refreshingly genuine, and although, by now, I hardly need much convincing about the charms of Oz ...

The Trip. Completely. Blew. My. Expectations. Out of the Water.

It would only be fitting for me to end this with a paen to my favourite character throughout the whole trip:


































That's Ghan (short for Afghanistan, I was told), the sweet-tempered, unbelievably docile camel I rode at Noosa North Shore! Ain't he a beauty?

Fear not reunions

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
To read the full article, please click here

Get That Dream Job

Yes, that's me - the tubby one on the furthest left :) I was one of six people interviewed for the July 2008 issue of Personal Money, for the cover story "Get That Dream Job". Was I excited? You bet. Was I dismayed, after the event? Kinda, especially after I realized there were things I could have done to avoid looking so tubby i.e.

1. Worn a long-sleeved shirt in a dark colour
2. Starved for a week before the fateful day

But then again, it's not often that one gets to grace the cover of a magazine, so between you and me, yeah, I was chuffed as hell :)

Working at Perfection

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
To read the full article, please click here

This was originally meant to be a veiled tribute to perfectionism, but for some reason, everybody latched on to the "Greek God" phrase.

For days, Andrew had to walk around with a plastic bag over his head, to avoid the (real or imagined) stares of sniggering strangers.

And for days, every time the phone beeped, he would shudder, as more often than not, it was inevitably an sms that began with "Hi Greek God..."

The last message I got from him? "I want to strangle you!!!"

Paying it forward

Scratching Post, Star Weekender, 5 July 2008
Click here to read the full article
To read a reader's response, please click here

An offer hard to resist

Scratching Post, Weekender, The Star
Click here to read the full article

WCIT 2008: a view from within

Features, Intech, The Star
Click here to read the full article

The great leap

I was one of 3 females interviewed for an article on women who left the rat race to plunge into the unknown.
Click here to read full article

A personal Indulgence

Rest & Relax, Weekender, The Star
Click here to read the full article

Of people & pastries

The Navel Gazer, Weekender, The Star
Click here to read the full article

KL Explorer

The Complete Residents' Guide

The KL Explorer isn't meant for tourists who are just looking for the best Twin Towers photo ops - it's written for the intrepid resident and traveller who knows the value of year-round sunshine (paraphrased from the foreword).



















The Kuala Lumpur Complete Residents' Guide has been meticulously researched and written by a team of seven city experts who n ot only know the city inside out, but love it too.

Available at all major bookstores

Chicken Porridge for the Soul

That's just the way the cookie crumbles
MPH Quill, April-June 2008

Standing United

The Navel Gazer, Weekender, The Star
Click here to read full article

Steady as she goes

One of 7 female travellers interviewed for an article in travel magazine Zero Degrees, March 2008

Hardly Illiterate

Navel Gazer, Weekender, The Star
Click here to read the full article

The Blues & McEpiphany

The Navel Gazer, Weekender, Scratching Post
Click here to read the full article