Two Weeks in Malaysia

I wish I could tell you that the reason there are so few shots of my face is because we spent those two weeks perfecting artistic photographs, but that would be incorrect. Actually there are lots of photos of my face, unfortunately it spent most of the time being pink and sweaty.

Petronas Towers, KL. 

We spent the first few days in Kuala Lumpur, where we visited these massive towers. We also walked along the bridge you can see in the middle there but on those photos there's just a hint of mild terror in my eyes. They're not blog-worthy, put it that way. We also ate some amazing food in Kuala Lumpur and I'll put a list of recommendations if you're visiting at the bottom including places I went and other recommendations I've had since coming back.

Batu Caves, KL

Before heading towards the coast on an overnight train we visited the Batu Caves; Hindu shrine and very very big limestone hill. It is in fact the biggest Hindu shrine outside of India and hosts the biggest statue of Murugan (Hindu deity, god of war and victory) in the world (above).

There were also monkeys: 

And I wore this very fetching helmet when we explored the Dark Caves, which are, as you would imagine, not very well lit, but also very full of creepy wildlife.

Dark Caves tour in the Batu Caves, KL

Then we headed across the water to spend the rest of our trip on the Perhentian islands - 4 days each on Besar (big island) and then Kecil (small island). I don't think any of the photos we took can properly show how beautiful the islands were or how clear the water was but I would definitely recommend them if anyone was going to Malaysia and the sea kayaking and snorkelling we did there are some of my favourite memories of the trip.

Snorkelling - Perhentian Besar

Then, as a stop off on our way back to KL to fly home, we went to Kota Bharu. Lonely Planet would have you believe that KB is 'busy', with a 'superb' spread of food and accommodation; Lonely Planet have sold many people a lie. If you're thinking you want to go to Kota Bharu, then you're wrong, you don't. 

That being said, KB was only 24 hours of what was a brilliant trip and I would recommend Malaysia very highly to anyone looking to travel in Asia. 

Recommendations: 

Din Tai Fung - Kuala Lumpur
Tuna Bay Resort restaurant - Perhentian Besar
Shari-La Island Resort - Perhentian Kecil
If you go to the islands I would strongly recommend the sea-kayaking and snorkelling, the sea kayaks we hired on Besar and we did the snorkelling there too but the same trips are also available if you go from Kecil. 

Hope you enjoyed reading about my travelling trip, sorry it's taken to long to publish, it's taken me a while to compile the photos and remember everything we did! 

xx

Weekly Digest

FASHION

This week I decided I was sick of the heat, and that I'm really ready for autumn. Nearly everything in my wardrobe has long sleeves, is too thick for summer, or is a jumper. All of these things have been neglected and I find myself longing for the opportunity to layer, throw on a scarf or a jumper and spend the day regretting not bringing a coat. This has meant however that my outfits have been a little uninspired this week but hopefully this will improve when the weather gets a little cooler and I can involve more of my wardrobe on a more regular basis. 

BEAUTY

This week has been the week of new hair products. I'll include more details in a July favourites post I'm planning for later this week but basically, I've been feeling a bit let down by my current hair care and I was looking to trying something new. My new regime now includes the Garnier Ultimate Blends Dry Shampoo and Hydrating macadamia oil. So far I've been very impressed with both, especially the dry shampoo which is perfect for days when my ends are doing that great second-day-hair thing and my roots are looking like they could do with a bit of a wash. 

LIFE

These gorgeous flowers are currently gracing my kitchen and making my empty house a little bit brighter. 

I've also found a new love for graphic novels. I usually try to get most books on my Kindle to save shelf space, especially given the huge clear-out I've just undertaken, but these are the sorts of books you just have to own in their original format. I've just finished Persepolis and a review of that should be on the Student Noodles site in the next few weeks. I've also got a book wish-list post coming here soon which will include many more graphic novels. I've definitely found my latest book love.

xx

Weekly Digest

FASHION

Attempting to get a nice OOTD picture but in fact ending up with a picture where my hair looks like it's eating my face. Embarrassingly enough my sandals, jeans and top are all from Topshop, and my bag and necklace (below) are both from Next. 

This is easily my favourite piece of jewellery at the moment. I love wearing jewels with casual daytime outfits especially when (as above) I'm not really wearing any colour or prints.

BEAUTY

And this is what I'm using make-up wise at the moment: 

Max Factor Mini Effects in Cappuccino

Maybelline Dream Pure BB in 01 Light 

Sleek Blush in Suede

I've yet to try the BB Cream out properly as I've spent the last few days since I bought it doing not very much at all and, as a result, not putting on any make up. As soon as I resume my social life I'll get back with a full review. The Sleek Blush is possibly my favourite blusher yet, I adore their powders and this, despite looking a little orange in the light, is the most perfect natural colour for everyday wear.

LIFE
This week I finished reading Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451 (5/30 by the end of 2014), it was great - I've done a more extensive review of over on Student Noodles along with a post on British festivals so please go and check those out. I also watched The Purge and it was so much better than I imagined it would be and had the wonderful effect of making me feel very unsafe in my own home. I'll definitely be seeing the sequel in the next few weeks.
I got GoodReads for all of fifteen minutes, rated some books, got some recommendations, then decided I didn't want to a) have another social media outlet to maintain and b) have such a measured approach to reading.
I also spent all of yesterday waiting for a courier from Music Magpie who never materialised. If you were my courier, please get in touch, I'm worried about you. Also, there are boxes in my hallway which are starting to annoy me with their presence. It would appear that I am not alone however as, judging by their customer services Twitter feed, many-a Music Magpie courier has gone missing; maybe they've all run off together to join the circus, maybe they've gone to find themselves in a remote part of the world, who knows. Wherever they were, they certainly weren't anywhere near my house between the hours of 8am and 8pm yesterday.

Finally, I've started looking for a job, desperately looking for a job. You might imagine that given entire days to do nothing at all I can sit here just typing away to my heart's content being super-productive and writing 4 or 5 posts a day. You would be wrong. Without any structure to my day what I do instead is write maybe 300 words and then take a work-sized break in the middle of the day until I panic in the evening realising I've achieved nothing, at which point I sit back down and finish whatever I started in the morning. On top of the fact I'm less productive without any sort of routine or proper activity, I'm also watching far too much TV, namely Come Dine With Me. I just can't watch another host be told off for using a bread maker to make their bread, or for not having the foresight to personally raise their chicken from an egg.

xx

A day out OOTD

Yesterday we took a trip to the park to enjoy the gorgeous weather. Malaysia was beautiful, but I can't deny that it is very nice to be able to go outside and not be instantly coated in sweat and want to throw myself into the nearest water source. It's become apparent that my wardrobe is only really suitable for British heat, but also that I've only ever invested in things I can also wear in the winter. Next time I'll have to buy many cotton dresses and nothing else, but whilst I'm home, this weather is perfect.

Shirt: Topshop 

Sunglasses: Ray Ban 

Shorts: Cooperative @ Urban Outfitters

Sandals: Topshop

xx

Glastonbury!

This is before I started to look like I hadn't showered in three days, and also before it started raining. 

Dress - Motel @ Ark

Bag - Next

Wellies - Dunlop

Sunglasses - Primark

I'd been to a few festivals before going to Glastonbury this year, including Leeds and T in the Park, and I can honestly say that Glastonbury is by far my favourite. Before we get to the acts and entertainment it is the nicest location and despite the amount of litter you can see me there it's actually the cleanest festival I've ever been to, especially in the camping areas. The people we encountered were so respectful and friendly, especially when it rained and copious amounts of water attacked the plastic sheets we'd made into home for the weekend. I'd also like to apologise to the girl whose tent we tried and failed to help put up. 

Now onto the acts. Dolly Parton, who everyone knows came out of the weekend as the nicest, funniest woman to have ever made music, was just as wonderful as I expected her to be and I could have listened to her sing 9 to 5 all weekend. Blondie was the coolest woman in the world as always and made me miss the days when I sported a blonde bob. Deltron 3030 got Jamie Cullum on stage and it was like someone had taken my music taste and put it onto West Holts. It felt like Lana Del Ray sang 'Born to Die' 15 times. I saw Goldfrapp and it was everything I dreamt it would be, confirming my undying love. Haim gave me both hair and talent/career envy which was at the same time great to watch but also caused an inner crisis.

During the day we experienced an interview with Greenpeace CEO and a remembrance hour for Tony Benn, which made me very sad that I never got to see him speak at the festival or elsewhere. A girl in front of me took a video selfie throughout the entire Blondie set and I made lots of uncomfortable eye contact with the camera. We ate a lot of Cornish pasties, drank many cups of tea and slept copious amounts and I loved it all. 

xx

The end of a crazy-busy month.

Okay so here's what happened.

 I wrote about over 20,000 words, I gave some presentations, did some exams.
Then I went to a ball.

Then I went to Malaysia.

 Then I went to Glastonbury.

And on Thursday I graduated. 

This sounds like a fun list of everything I've done recently but it's actually just a very short post filled with excuses. I'm really sorry I've been so bad at this but what can I say, final year beat me. I'll be better from now on. I even downloaded an app to prove it (I only started these goals on June 1st so don't judge me). 

I should be back on other various websites soon too, and I'll let you know about that as we go.

You're all great, thanks. 

xx