Posh, Broke, & Bored

As far as European travel destinations go Riga is easily one of the most underrated.

If social media is any indication of taste, it seems that Riga gets overlooked in favour of more 'obvious' cities like Paris which has its charms but beneath the la vie en rose-tinted glasses (or rather Valencia-tinted Instagram filters) is less of the postcard-perfect city idealistic travellers make out to be - after all Pinterest tends to crop out the rubbish, chaos, and street crime that plagues most over-saturated tourist destinations. Riga, from what I saw in my short stay, seemed to have none of those nuisances but all of the qualities that make up the fantasy of the perfect European city: perfectly manicured snow-lined boulevards devoid of crowds, pastel-hued pre-war architecture at every corner, friendly and helpful locals who speak perfect English, quiet streets you feel perfectly safe wandering about at night on your own, activities that offer both the refinement of a historical capital and the wilderness of the great country, and most importantly - Riga is inexpensive and easily accessible. Riga is not so much a postcard but almost a fairytale - it's easy to see why it was named European Capital of Culture 2014 but baffling as to why it hasn't yet been swarmed with hordes of tourists flocking with their selfie sticks. Yet quite a few travel bloggers have professed a desire to visit Riga, or that they've been and love it. Is this UNESCO world heritage site one of Europe's best kept secrets? Possibly. Should you visit Riga and see for yourself why it is Europe's unsung hero? Most certainly.

For one; if you love architecture and especially the romantic, expressive stylings of Art Nouveau, Riga is the city to be in. There is the Riga Art Nouveau Museum housed in the apartment of architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns but with about eight hundred buildings adorned in sensual curves, goddesses, and mythical creatures the Art Nouveau district is essentially a living, breathing museum of this art movement and certainly the biggest collection of its kind in Europe. I stayed at Gallery Park Hotel Riga in the 'quiet district' adjacent to many international embassies and the art nouveau district, and a ten minute wander from the hotel led me to an astonishing display of some of the most ornamental, detailed, and beautiful buildings I've ever seen, especially on Alberta Street. Did you know that a vast 600 square metre two-floor apartment in the Art Nouveau district is only €1-5 million? Can you imagine living in one of these?

For a list of some of Riga's most interesting Art Nouveau buildings, read here.

I wish I'd read that list before my visit but I'm happy to have discovered it all by accident!

Riga's stunning architecture isn't confined to one district. The heart of the city - Old Town - is like a little gingerbread medieval kingdom juxtaposed the occasional steel structure, all of which is best seen from the tower of St. Peter's church. You take a lift to the fourth floor for €7 and you're rewarded with this view -

Breathtaking, isn't it?

There is also art to be seen at St Peter's, both outside and inside. For a list of art exhibitions and events at St Peter's, read here.

The view from the ground is also stunning, if a little imposing.

House of The Blackheads (such a funny name for a building - sounds like a hormonal teen's nose haha) a striking Gothic building with a Dutch Renaissance facade. In its day it was used to house single members of the merchants' guild who were also notorious party animals whose soirees and feasts were often attended by royalty in disguise.

Another must-see in Riga is the Latvian National Opera House. Home to both the Latvian National Opera and the Latvian National Ballet, the LNO stages more than 200 performances during the 'season' (from September to June) with about six new productions every season of both opera and ballet. The LNO both pays tribute to the traditional values of the classical and contemporary forms of expression with productions of modern operatic and ballet masterpieces, children's performances, and original Latvian works. Recently the LNO has toured the world from Hong Kong Festival to the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and to Luxembourg, Sweden, and Mexico. I treated Henry to a performance of Swan Lake for our first night in Riga and it was in the neo-classical grandeur of the LNO, beneath the Rigan moonlight that we were swept away by the magic of Tchaikovsky.

Tickets are very reasonably priced, starting as low as €2! I booked my seats for Swan Lake - less than €30 for dress circle - through this website.

If you have a taste for long, leisurely walks through the annals of time, you should visit the Latvian Ethnographic Open Air Museum. Just a twenty minute taxi ride from the city centre (about €12) the Latvian Open-Air Ethnographic Museum is one of the oldest and largest open-air museums in Europe - a 'village' in a pine forest of 118 old buildings from historical districts of Latvia built from the end of the 17th century up to the second half of the 1930s that have been relocated, reconstructed and furnished so as to give you a peek into the lives of Latvian farmers, craftsmen, and fishermen.

Henry and I strolled through the pine forest, crunching through icy leaves and walking on frozen ponds in what seemed like a time capsule of Latvia. We peered into huts, houses, teepees and from the furnishings - household and working tools, interiors and furniture we got a feel for the time period, the district, and the owners’ vocations. Everything was so serene because the open air museum is huge - even if there are many visitors they're spread out, so you often find that you have your side of the 'village' all to yourself, almost as though the inhabitants put down their tools and suddenly left in an exodus, leaving everything the way it was. That, or The Rapture cometh.

We walked out to the frozen river that separated the city centre from the Open Air Museum.

Riga is the perfect base from which to explore the more outdoorsy aspect of Latvia. Henry and I drove an hour and a half away to a log cabin in West Riga where we drove a sled pulled by huskies, which I shall write a whole blog post about as I really want to do it justice!

These are just a few things we did in Riga - for a comprehensive list of things to do I suggest the Live Riga website - but in case you need more convincing about why Riga should be on your visit list, here they are:

1) Accessibility. It's only two hours to fly to from London and flights on Ryanair are ridiculously cheap - about £40 for a return!

2) Safety. For the first time I felt completely safe walking around an unfamiliar city at night in a fur coat with a Louis Vuitton handbag dangling off my arm. The street crime rate is practically zero.

3) Convenience. The currency is euros, everybody speaks English, and because Riga is so small you can easily do all of the sights and many activities in a long weekend - perfect for if you don't have time for a long holiday!

4) Price. While not the cheapest European city, most services are cheaper than London and taxis are honest and reasonably priced - a taxi from the airport to the city centre is no more than €12.

5) Variety. You get the both of both worlds - elegant refinement and adventurous outdoor activities - making this a perfect holiday for couples or a group with very different styles. AND you get to fire AK-47s at the local firing range. More on the latter, tomorrow! x

Photos 19, 20, & 21 courtesy of Latvian National Opera.

My posts on Riga so far have been postcard-pretty photos of candy-coloured Art Nouveau buildings, luxuries like Gallery Park Hotel Riga, and the wintry beauty of snowy landscapes - so far, so lovely. Today's blog post is about an attraction that is more rugged and rough around the edges but by no means only for men and is just as exhilarating as the ballet (but with more bang for your buck) - Riga Shooting Range.

The shooting range was Henry's idea. Henry's fascination for shooting all started when his Regimental Sergeant Major father bought Henry a air pistol for his 7th birthday when they were staying at his grandparents' country home in the Scottish Highlands. Henry's love and respect for the sport developed partly from his family's military background and Henry's own military training, and from Henry's travels to parts of the world where guns are very much part of the culture (you can see more of Henry's adventures on his Instagram - @regi_mental). Ever since, Henry has been shooting whenever and wherever he gets the chance but as most Englishmen know, apart from countryside sojourns and lengthy bureaucratic nightmares shooting opportunities in the UK are few and far between. And one most certainly does get the chance to fire a Kalashnikov in a shooting club in England let alone on one's estate! So when Henry heard about a shooting range in Riga that offered assault rifles and combat shotguns he signed us up for an afternoon of explosive fun. Suffice to say, we had a blast.

Henry and I didn't know what to expect about Riga Shooting Range. Going from the masculine design of their website, taglines boasting 'The Unforgettable Experience' and 'Feel The Power of Combat Shotgun', and the secrecy surrounding their exact location (we were to be picked up from our hotel and driven there, for security reasons, no doubt) I half-expected intimidating, suspicious Soviet-type shady characters with black market cigars dangling from their beefy lips barking orders at a cowering me while I struggled with surplus war weapons in a underground bunker. The only part that was accurate was the underground location. The staff were absolutely professional and put us completely at ease with their hospitality and laid-back nature, and our firing instructor had the patience of a saint - even when I stumbled backwards from the recoil of a combat shotgun and pointed it at my foot, he merely caught my back and swiftly pushed the gun toward the target so as to save me losing several toes. Everything about the experience was pleasant, from the way Riga Shooting Range picked us up promptly at our hotel, explained the guns and safety techniques thoroughly to make sure we understood how to safely use the many firearms we handled, and were not pushy at all - we took our time to shoot at our leisure and afterward there was no shoo-ing us out of the range, we were invited to try on military uniforms and pose with weapons of our choice for photos. Riga Shooting Range were also very flexible, letting him choose to fire a Magnum instead of a Glock and when Henry changed his mind, they allowed him to upgrade from his Standard Package to include two extra guns of his choice.

The shooting range was in a high-security underground bunker where the local police also train.

A Sig Sauer SP 2009, as seen in movies The Bourne Identity, Outlaw, Paul, The Lookout. The Riga Shooting Range website lists the guns in their arsenal along with specifications and movies they've featured in.

Henry booked the Standard Package for us (five shots each from four guns: Glock-17, Makarov PM, AK-103 - the cousin of the AK-47, and Winchester 1300) and he upgraded to include the SPAS-15 and a Magnum.

Henry firing the Magnum (above) and the Winchester shotgun (below).

The shotgun I struggled with - I could barely hold up the Winchester and my arms were so strained from the weight that I kept letting the gun swing downward, pointing at my feet. With every shot, the recoil send me falling backwards that my instructor had to prop me upwards and swing the barrel away from my feet to point it safely toward the target. I was a mean shot with the Glock though - my aim was accurate and my stance was confident. Each shot I fired was sure, steady, and dare I say it - sexy.

The Winchester shells, larger than my lipsticks. They make regular bullets look practically puny.

The AK-103 and the Winchester shotgun. For someone who could barely hold up a shotgun I was more than a decent shot with the AK!

Henry, however, was deadly sexy with the big guns.

Behold his handsomeness, firing a SPAS-15 like it's the most natural thing in the world.

Examining our targets, which we were free to take home as souvenirs but forgot to.

I nailed my target in the head, heart, and...armpit.

Unlike the extremely politically correct shooting targets in England (bulls eyes and the like) we got to chose from a variety of characters including James Bond which Henry refused to fire at: "He's English and so am I! He's a national hero, I can't shoot him!" The instructor: "James Bond is a fictional character!" Henry: "Yeah, that's what he wants you to believe!"

Henry's target...

...shot in the groin. "That's a little below the belt, isn't it darling?"

Just your standard firing range decor. There were much more, um, sensual posters of lovely ladies but I just couldn't bring myself to photograph any of them. No doubt those posters are there to appeal to the clientele who come to European firing ranges as stag do groups, but the shooting range was not at all overly masculine so as to alienate or intimidate women - there were young ladies at the shooting range, as lovely and youthful as they come, and all treated with the same respect as any man or policeman or policewoman.

Some of the firearms available at Riga Shooting Range, and the packages available, taken from their website.

If you're planning a trip to Riga I do recommend adding Riga Shooting Range to your itinerary. The staff are absolutely professional, laid back, flexible, will make you feel comfortable and welcome, and have props for photo opportunities after so you can show everyone what a banging good time you had (and they also have a resident sausage dog you can pet)! x

Gallery Park Hotel Riga Restaurant Renomme

In my first blog post about the award-winning 5* luxury boutique hotel Gallery Park Hotel Riga I've shown you why GPH Riga is the right choice for the discerning and sophisticated traveller who wants a luxurious, hospitable, and convenience stay that reflects the elegance of Riga, the European Capital of Culture 2014. Today's post follows up with Renommé, Gallery Park Hotel Riga's restaurant whose accolades for its Latvian culinary classics sees that this gourmet dining destination holds its own without needing to rest on the laurels of its prestigious hotel.

Renommé (French for renown) has the proud distinction of being the first restaurant from the Baltic States to be included in the Top 5 of The European 50 Best Restaurants. Renommé celebrates the identity of Latvian contemporary cuisine with their unconventional and creative combination of Latvian classics and French charm, with original dishes of their creation that change with their seasonal menu. Aficionados of fine French wine will be pleasantly surprised to discover that Renommé serves Château de Berne's distinctive rectangle bottles of rosé, white, and red. For those less inclined to the imbibing of the vine - such as yours truly who is allergic to wine - there are Latvian gastronomical delights such as Riga rye bread waffle stuffed with traditional Latvians fillings (herbed farmer's cheese, anchovies, fish roe and other delicacies), Renommé's trademark herb-encrusted pork chops with a wine and citrus sauce, and for desert; the classic warm pudding with Riga Black Balsam and caramel sauce. Even for those staying elsewhere in Riga, the restaurant is well worth the visit to Gallery Park Hotel - the evening Henry and I dined there we saw two parties who weren't guests of the hotel, I imagine they were there as appreciators of gourmet Latvian cuisine!

The restaurant's opulent interiors - elegantly set off by boissery wooden wall panels sourced from a 19th century French chateau and details such as framed collection of wine labels from the great French winery Chateau Mouton Rothschild - cohesively follows on to the adjacent bar (below) and throughout the hotel, which is collectively known for its eclectic yet classical approach to decor.

I've mentioned in my Gallery Park Hotel Riga post that the hotel was formerly a yacht magnate's mansion, and this is reflected in the paintings in the bar of his ships, boats, and seafaring vessels.

Aficionados of fine French wine will be pleasantly surprised to discover that Renommé serves Château de Berne's distinctive rectangle bottles of rosé, white, and red.

Our amuse-bouche was a dainty and delicious fish cake that whetted our appetites for things to come.

I liked how the dark, airy butter is served with herbs to look like saplings growing from earth in a pot - it certainly added to the theme of 'down to earth' (hehe) food presented with clever little twists.

Henry started with the smoked mackerel, served with potato cookie and caramelized red cabbage which he reported as wholesome comfort food presented with flair.

I loved my starter of Latvian beef Carpaccio with horseradish cream, caper berries, and parito cheese - I do love a good beef carpaccio and it was a pleasure to try it the Latvian way!

Henry enjoyed his slowly-cooked salmon fillet with beetroot tartar, again another modest and simple dish elevated with the precise preparation and careful balance of flavours in the dish's surprising combination of ingredients.

My main - the roasted Latvian pork in herb crust and white wine lemon sauce. For such a simple-looking dish it was surprisingly good, the tender meat combined with the zest of the peppers, lemon, and herb was a winner and the crust gave me that satisfying feeling of eating 'guilty pleasure food' although instead of deep fried (as all guilty pleasures are) the pork was actually baked, which was a great deal healthier. I underestimated the density of the dish - the pork was 'flattened', how heavy could such a thin-looking meat be? - and halfway through I was completely full, I had to look on sadly as my main was taken away to make room for desert.

We eschewed the Baba au Balsam - I have never been able to handle liqueur soaked desert - for less intoxicating but no less delicious options.

Henry's basil cheese-cake with strawberries and mint. I've never had basil in a cheesecake before and I must say, it's brilliant - I want to recreate this at home! I had a more traditional desert of chocolate fondant with and unexpected twist - blue cheese ice-cream! This would be the perfect pudding to pair with red wine, alas I don't drink wine, so it went to a very happy Henry.

We finished our meal with a serving of chewy biscuit light dusted with sugar.

I know that some of you have been swayed by my blog post on Things To Do In Riga and that at least two of you have been dropping your significant other hints about wanting to stay at Gallery Park Hotel Riga for Valentine's Day. You've also asked me about what Latvian cuisine is like and I hope this post has given you a taste of it, or better yet consider Renommé as one of your culinary destinations in Riga! Two courses are €34 (€44 with 2 wine glasses of Chateau de Berne) and three courses are €39 (€49 with 2 glasses of wine) - a bargain for a gourmet Latvian meal in an award-winnng restaurant in an award-winning luxury hotel in Europe! I definitely recommend Renommé if you want to sample 'Latvian Classics' in Riga. x

Photos 2 and 4 courtesy of Gallery Park Hotel Riga.

Gallery Park Hotel Riga on Tripadvisor | Gallery Park Hotel Riga website

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I've had heaps of positive feedback on my Riga blog posts, thank you! It seems that many of you have enjoyed my suggestions on sights to see and things to do in Riga and I'm happy to say that I've saved the best for last - mushing and sledding with huskies in the snow. Today's blog post, however, is one for the foodies and is a follow up to Thursday's restaurant review of award-winning Renommé in Gallery Park Hotel Riga.

The pleased face of a holiday-goer whose eaten twice her usual portions with none of the consequences - it's amazing how much calories you burn by walking miles in the snow! Scott of the Antarctic ate blocks of butter and penguin fat during his Antarctic expeditions. So, yeah.

RESTAURANTS IN THE ART NOUVEAU DISTRICT

MUUSU

Blue mussels with tiger prawns, white wine, cream, tomato salsa, toasted wheat bread.

Local Camembert cheese, spinach, honeyed sea-buckthorn, pickled pumpkin, walnuts, and nut emulsion.

Beef tartare, tomato and celery relish, quail egg, roasted whole-grain bread, parsley olive oil. My first steak tartare in Riga!

Casarecce pasta, spinach, parmesan cheese sauce with mushrooms and creamy truffle-cream sauce.

With its Nordic interior of raw brick walls, linens, woods, and bright air space; Muusu stands out in the opulent, ornamental Art Nouveau district. At Muusu, design and food go hand-in-hand; describing the restaurant as 'an exquisite background for that which is essential – the food and (their) emotions' and the ascetic tableware as 'a canvas for them to paint on'. The menu is based on stable culinary values; the classics of modern Europe, where space is left for bright interpretation and seasonal accents, while simultaneously paying respect to everything fresh and of local origin. (source) The ambience was soothing and uplifting, the service was wonderful (as it seems to be the norm in Riga); we were well looked after - the staff called us a Baltic Taxi and presented us with a card entitling us to a 10% of the fare, and the food was faultless.

MUUSU | Antonijas iela 13, Rīga, LV-1010, Latvia

RIVIERA

Pan fried scallops with pumpkin mash grapes, apples and roasted almonds.

Baked fillet of Baltic sea trout served with cauliflower mush, root vegetables and almond-white wine sauce.

Charolais veal tartare with white truffle oil. This was perfect in every way. I'm actually salivating thinking of this!

Tagliatelle with veal tenderloin, porcini mushrooms, green asparagus, tomatoes, spinach and creamy truffle butter sauce.

Hot chocolate fondant with home made tonka bohne ice cream and berry sauce.

A trio of home-made sorbets - mango-tequila, lemon champagne, and red oranges.

Riviera came highly recommended by our hotel. Adjacent to Muusu, Riviera's decor also stands out in the Art Nouveau district with its stone mosaics and blue patterns - very Mediterranean chic. No surprise that Riviera serves a combination of Italian, Spanish, French and Greek culinary tastes, (prepared the authentic way, with a wood-fired grill!) complemented by their exquisite Mediterranean region wine card. The seafood was delicious, the veal tartare among the best I've had (I wish I'd ordered two instead of having the pasta), and the sorbets were a joy. A must-go if you're craving a bit of Mediterranean food in a fashionable part of town. Riviera is very popular among the well-heels locals and does get busy, so call ahead to book a table: +371 26605930.

RIVIERA | Antonijas iela 13, Rīga, LV-1010, Latvia

RESTAURANTS IN TOWN

RENOMME, GALLERY PARK HOTEL RIGA

Award-winning restaurant serving Latvian classics in stunning 5* luxury boutique hotel Gallery Park Hotel Riga. Read my full and comprehensive review here.

RENNOME | Krišjāņa Valdemāra iela 7, Rīga, LV-1010, Latvia

BENJAMINS

Baked salmon fillet with pistachio risotto cauliflower purée and shrimp-lime sauce.

Roasted monkfish fillet with Parma ham, white wine cooked mussels, carrot purée and bathed in parsley sauce. Delicious! The monkfish texture was less fishy and more like shellfish, which I rather enjoyed.

Left: Risotto with wild mushrooms and grana padono cheese.

Right: Butter seared sea scallops, cauliflower purée, cockles, caramelised hazelnuts and apple with cress dressing. The cauliflower purée was wonderful - like mash, but a much healthier alternative.

Benjamins, on the first floor of 'Europa Royale Riga' Hotel has been described as 'refined and elitist' and is named after the legendary former owner of the building. We dined in the Venice hall, famous for the only Venice crystal chandelier in the Baltic States, in supposedly one of the most grandiose dining halls in Riga. However the ambient was decidedly lacking during our visit - Henry and I were the only ones present but this could be because is was a late Thursday evening (we had just come from the ballet) and Riga is generally a quiet city. Even so, the service left much to be desired - our waiter forgot my Diet Coke (yes, Diet Coke, you can laugh now), our dishes took forever to arrive despite us being the only diners there, and when we finally started out on our long-awaited main courses we were interrupted with the bill to be settled as the kitchen was about to close. Maybe we were unlucky and went on an 'off' day, which was a shame as the food was great and we would've enjoyed it more if not for the lack of atmosphere and service.

BENJAMINS | Krišjāņa Barona iela 12 Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

CAFES AND RESTAURANTS IN OLD TOWN

RIGA BLACK MAGIC BAR

The secret door to the basement bar, concealed in a bookcase and opened by pulling on the figurine on the shelf.

Nothing is 'more Riga' than Riga Black balsam - you simply cannot go to Riga and leave without trying this traditional Latvian herbal liqueur. The traditional recipe was created by pharmacist Abraham Kunze from a composition of 24 different plants, flowers, buds, juices, roots, oils and berries prepared in oak barrels. Renowned for its supposed medical properties and health benefits, Black Balsam is used in traditional medicine as a cold remedy and treat digestive problems. Legend has it that Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, fell ill during a visit to Latvia, and was cured after drinking Riga Black Balsam - referenced in The Simpsons in the episode 'Flaming Moe's'. Riga Black Magic Bar, in all its eclectic glory, is the place to go to sip Black Balsam coffees and cocktails (or knock back a shot) while sampling their chocolates and confectionaries.

RIGA BLACK MAGIC BAR | Kaļķu iela 10, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

ROZENGRALS

Oven-baked duck meat with red cherry-onion jam. "This is one of the favorite dishes of Rene of Anjou who conducted the range of famous tournaments. Including the tournament in Nantes in 1445 in honour of the marriage of his two daughters Margaret and Yolande." The best duck I've ever had! Generous portions with crispy skin and meat so tender, juicy, and infused with just the right amount of fat! So good that I came back a second time and ordered it again.

Rozengrals is by far Henry's favourite place in Riga - we went back for a second time! - and you can see why with its 'ye olde' stylings. An authentic medieval restaurant, we expected it to be one of those cheesy tourist attractions with bosomy wenches serving us pots of ale and actors staging old-fashioned pub punch-ups with flyings legs of mutton and all. Rozengrals is actually very authentic and felt true to the time - the restaurant was in a warren of underground caverns lit by hundreds of candles, everything on the menu was typical of the times with a little history on the dishes (example: the honey baked beet and goat cheese salad on the menu was followed by this blurb - "After the tournament in Bruges that followed the wedding of Duke Charles of Burgundy and Margaret of York the honorable guests enjoyed this dish. 15th century"), and the staff were 'in character' without being over the top: when I asked for wifi, our waitress looked puzzled : "Wifi? What is wifi? This is the thirteenth century..." Best no-wifi letdown ever! The food is excellent; hearty, delicious, and with generous portions that would keep a medieval serf well fuelled for a day of toiling in the fields. I recommend the onion soup (served in a cauldron with a ladle) and the oven-baked duck (above)! Rozengrals and Riga Black Magic Bar are owned by the same person - as you might have figured out from their similar style - so I recommend stopping by for some Riga Black Balsam at Black Magic Bar for a pick me up after a hearty dinner at Rozengrals.

ROZENGRALS | Rozena iela, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

These are my restaurant picks for Riga! For a place to stay, read my post on Gallery Park Hotel Riga; for sightseeing, here are my recommendations on Things To Do In Riga; for a banging good time here's my review on Riga Shooting Range (you get to fire AK47s!). Stay tuned for tomorrow's post and my last blog post on Riga - snow sledding with huskies in the Latvian countryside! x

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Credits: photos 3,10, and 19.

On the last leg of our Riga city break, Henry and I learnt how to be real mushers, crossing the Latvian countryside with a team of husky dogs and a sled. The wonderful staff at Gallery Park Hotel Riga made the arrangements - Henry and I were picked up from the hotel in the morning by a representative from Tour Point and we drove to the 'base camp' in West Riga for a good two hours across long icy roads (with signs pointing to Moscow!) past endless stretches of pine forest. Our guide (we'll call him R) told us fascinating stories about Latvian history, local legends, and about the high probability of the Holy Grail being lost somewhere in Riga - let's get digging!

Our guide, R- a towering specimen of Latvian manliness at nearly 7 foot tall with old-fashioned manners and a wooden pipe.

When we got to base camp we were greeted with hauntingly beautiful, melodic howling: a group of huskies smelt another pack of huskies nearby and were communicating with them the way their wild cousins - wolves - would. Despite the Siberian husky's physical resemblance to the wolf and their wilder instincts (they are much harder to train then most domestic dog breeds), the husky isn't actually the missing link between wolf and dog. In fact, all dog breeds are as closely related to wolves as the husky is! But humour me, let me believe that I'm dancing with wolves.

The huskies were eager to run. Bred for hard work, with strong pack instinct and a real sense for pecking order (if you disrupt the order and put a husky in a different position than it is used to, all the dogs will get agitated and fight), Siberian huskies live for work. We were privileged to witness them as they should be; living in packs in large expanses of land where they could exercise their natural instinct to run, pull, and work as a team. It was clear that these huskies (unlike so many I've seen kept as fashionable pets in apartments and don't get the exercise they need to stay sane) were happy and keen to serve. Our guide picked six dogs for our team, and one husky was so desperate to join that when she realised she was being left out she started crying like a fat child on a strict diet in a candy shop. Another team picked her, so it's all good!

Henry and I went as a duo, without any help from a guide except for instructions on how to control the sled and direct the dogs. The huskies knew the route by heart anyway, so it was mostly up to Henry to keep us keep us on the sled during the five kilometre route. The dogs would run up to 50km/h through winding forest paths, leap across drops, dodge obstacles, and make sharp turns so balancing was quite tricky - at several points we were in real danger of tipping over especially whenever the dogs sped up to turn corners but Henry did an impeccable job of controlling the sled. I felt like the Snow Queen of Narnia in my fur coat, sitting prettily and yelling 'Mush! Mush! Run! Jump! Rest! Rest!' at the dogs who mostly ignored me and just did what they are trained to do.

The sledding track got wilder with each kilometre, travelling across five kilometres of forest that paved way to a vast expanse of white - it could've very well been a frozen lake covered in snow for all we know - but never once did our confidence in the team falter. These huskies knew exactly what they were doing, and we were just fortunate enough to go along with the ride. Although after five kilometres of crashing through wintry forests someone did emerge looking somewhat 'wilder'...

...so wild, in fact, that the huskies mistook Henry as one of them and decided that he was the new alpha dog.

I named this blue and brown eyed beauty Mischka. She was absolutely in love with Henry - whenever I approached him she'd stick out her leg and push me away with her paw: "He's mine!"

Mischka looking on with jealousy as Henry turns his affections to another dog.

Photo 1 courtesy of Tour Point.

I thoroughly recommend an excursion with Tour Point - not just for husky dog sledding; they also do city tours around Riga, multi-day tours around Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, and offer customised tours just for you. Henry and I joined the husky dog sledding tour although it felt less like a tour and more like a trip with some friendly locals. We were treated like friends - driven from the city to the countryside and had lovely banter all the way, fed mulled wine and delicious pastries, got to visit the other racing dogs, make friends with the huskies, and play in the snow, all for €95 each. Find out more on their website, here!

And so, this posts marks the end of my Riga series. I hope you've enjoyed the trip as much as I have; from the ballet to the Art Nouveau to the shooting range to the dogs. As Henry succinctly describes our trip: "Ballet, bullets, and bitches." Charming! But Riga is just that - where else in Europe can you do both the elegant, sophisticated, and cultural side of Europe (ballet, luxury hotels, Art Nouveau architecture, UNESCO Heritage sites) and rugged, outdoorsy activities (firing Kalashnikovs at a shooting range, walking miles in a recreated village, and sledding with huskies)? Exactly. Riga awaits - the huskies are calling you. What are you waiting for? GO! x

Need convincing? Here are my blog posts on Riga:

Arriving in Riga: Gallery Park Hotel

Things To Do In Riga

Riga's a Blast: Firing Kalashnikovs at Riga Shooting Range

Gallery Park Hotel Riga: Restaurant Renomme

Riga Restaurant Recommendations

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Posh, Broke, & Bored hit 1 million pageviews (as of 2013) on Friday when I was on my flight from London to Kuala Lumpur. While I owe the awareness of my blog to a wider audience in the UK (two years ago my readers were predominantly from South East Asia) not to my own machinations but rather thanks to another blogger's underhanded attempt at slating me - which instead produced the undesired (in their eyes) effect of making me known to their same readership and endearing me to the very detractors that they eventually created for themselves - I can take some credit for the growth of my blog audience in the last few months or so; not just by consistently striving to improve the quality of my content but also by making Posh, Broke, & Bored a little more constant in the consciousness of the readers of the interwebs. I emerged from the cocoon of a keyboard-thumping nobody who didn't even know what a scheduled tweet was, grew some blogging wings, and began my metamorphosis into a metaphorical social media butterfly.

I became a millionaire in the air. If blog pageviews is currency, that is. Snaps from before my flight, on my Instagram (@jasiminne).

While I have a long, long, way to go toward the kind of growth, audience, and outreach I want for Posh, Broke, & Bored, I daresay I've learnt a few things over the past months about bringing a blog to a larger public awareness. All of these things I've learnt through research, and trial and error, but mostly from my wonderful, helpful, encouraging blogging friends (shout out to Jesse who has been fighting my corner from Day 1 and Sarah who takes the precious time from her insanely busy schedule to not only explain to me how things work in the 'industry' but also generously send me her resources) but if there's one big lesson I've learnt from all of this is that when it comes to being a good blogger, sharing is caring. And so I'm going to share with you what I've learnt about growing your blog readership, learning new things and making new friends along the way - spreading your blog wings and flying, as it were! If you are new to the blogging game and you found these tips useful or think someone could benefit from this post, pass them along -my share buttons are at the bottom of the post. Let's spread some knowledge! x

SOCIAL MEDIA BUTTERFLY : HOW TO GROW YOUR BLOG'S WINGS, YOUR AUDIENCE, AND MAKE ONLINE FRIENDS

1. Engage in blogger chats. Blogger chats on Twitter are a great way to talk to other bloggers and break the ice - I think of it as speed dating for bloggers, minus the awkwardness. Blogger chats I participate in are #BDIB and #Lbloggers (Becky Bedbug has put together a helpful list of UK Blogger Twitter Chat times which you can check out here). Hosted by various bloggers for an hour every day, there are chats specialised for fashion bloggers, beauty bloggers etc. if you want to talk or learn about a certain niche, but of course everybody (or is that everyblogger?) is welcome to join the conversation - just the other day I was chipping in my two cents about vlogging and Youtube even though I do neither!

2. Get on Bloglovin. This one is a no-brainer. While Bloglovin may not be widely used in, say South East Asia (some of SEA's biggest bloggers don't even have followers on their BL profiles!), BL is definitely the UK and US platform for your blog to be seen and heard. Elle & Company have a brilliant post on What Every Blogger Needs To Know About Bloglovin.

3. Comment on other blogs. Everybody loves feedback on a blog post they've worked to hard to craft. By taking your time to show appreciation for something a blogger written they might well return the favour or even point some of their readers your way. I find lots of new blog reads through the comments section of other blogs - it's always the ones with witty and relevant (to the topic commented on) remarks that I click through and more often than not those commentor's blogs make their way into my reading list.

4. Share blog posts you find useful. I'm talking about other blogger's posts, whether you repin their posts on Pinterest, tweet it, share on Facebook, or include their posts in a sort of 'weekly blog post roundup' - for an example, look at the bottom of this post, and also how I've included relevant links to other blogs in the points above.

5. Share your posts on social media. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn (yes!) and communities (more on that in the next point). Whether or not said social media platform has heaps of users or just the occasional bored browser looking for something to read during his pre-lunch break procrastination, every ounce of cyberspace you occupy is precious (free!) advertising space. Fizzy Peaches has five top tips on promoting your blog through Pinterest. By Regina explains how to create super share-worthy blog posts. For tips on how to make the most of Twitter, The Bloggers Bazaar guide to Twitter plus tools and resources is a good read.

6. Join online communities like Triberr, Triptease for travel bloggers, Central Dish and Zomato for foodies, community boards on Pinterest where bloggers share and pin their posts, photography groups on Flickr etc. The more platforms your content is on, the more traffic you're likely to drive to your blog, and it could well introduce you to other blogs that you can't believe you'd lived this long without knowing!

7. Collaborate, guest post, and help other bloggers out. A wonderful way for blogs to add a bit of diversity to their content and also help out when topics are a bit stagnant, collaborating with other bloggers - whether it be illustrations, guest posts, or featuring in interviews, vlogs etc. is a great tool for showcasing your skills as a content creator to a different audience who might just be intrigued enough to check out your blog.

8. Go to blogger events. I've met a lot of wonderful people at blogger events and made some friends for life - I'm not even going to try and name them all because it will take too long! Blogger events are a magical thing - a room full of people with a same common passion (getting their word out across) but in different ways and on different topics. There is so much to learn from other bloggers at events and of course, workshops are a brilliant place to make new contacts and learn new skills. My friends Angela and Sarah have created Bloggeration: a super-small class where bloggers can learn to up their game, network, improve their skills, and develop themselves as social media influencers. Not sure what to do with yourself at an event full of strangers? Read The BBar Blog's 5 tips for Networking at Events for tips on how to make the most of blogger events!

That's it for my tips on how to grow your blog wings!

Here are 5 blog posts I've enjoyed this January, and 5 blogs full of useful advice for bloggers:

January blog post Round Up:

1. The Mayfairy: "The Biggest Misconceptions About Bloggers"
2. All That Shimmers: How To: SEO
3. Ale Mint: 6 Ways To Grow Your Blog Community And Readership
4. The BBar Blog: Creating a media kit for your blog
5. Angie Silverspoon's Unexpected benefits of blogging - hilarious read, and so relevant to many of us!

Five blogs chock full of useful tips and resources for bloggers:

1. The Well : The BBar Blog
2. Elle & Company
3. Media Marmalde
4. Becky Bedbug Blog tips
5. By Regina

If you know of any amazing blogs you think I should read, please send them my way, and share this post with the share buttons below if you think this post could be useful to anyone! Have a wonderful and productive week ahead! x

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You all know that when it comes to eating out I am a committed salad-dodger - the sort of conscious carnivore who will only orders vegetables at dinner if it is Heston Blumenthals' meat fruit. It's not that I'm opposed to eating greens - in fact I love salads in summer - it's just that vegetables don't 'fill me up' or feel as satisfactory the way meat does. And if I'm treating myself to a meal I'd rather get my money's worth and load up on the heavies which to me means slabs of meat. I know that my logic is flawed because my boyfriend, Henry, has been a vegetarian most of his life. If a six-foot-one 20-something year old with an active lifestyle can function perfectly well on a vegetarian diet then there's no excuse for a 5'6" sedentary lump like myself to omit vegetables on the basis that 'it doesn't make me feel full or give me energy'. Lately, however, I find myself feeling sluggish no doubt thanks to endless takeaways on cold winter evenings. I've been craving a healthier, lighter diet; that Henry is vegetarian and I've been thinking a bit more about animal rights (I've given up foie gras) means that I've been toying with the idea of being pescetarian, eating more vegetables and far less meat.

So when Ceru, a touring restaurant popped up (sorry, couldn't resist a pun) on my blog feed as a destination for healthy Levantine (Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern) cuisine, the sun-soaked flavours of which I adore, I was immediately enamoured with the Eastern Promises (I'm on a roll with the puns today!) of light, healthy, and delicious food with many pescetarian, vegetarian, and vegan choices - perfect for me, as I suffer both guilt from eating too much meat and guilt that I might be 'excluding' Henry with my obscenely fleshy gastronomical choices.

Henry and I bravely ventured out of Shoreditch and into the chaos of Central London. Tucked away from the cacophony of Oxford Street, in the relatively peaceful pocket of Fitzrovia, Ceru stood out immediately with its bright colours of blue and yellow - chosen to represent the Mediterranean sea and sun. Those colours, appearing as accents throughout the small restaurant, interspersed with woody decor, baskets of fruit, jars of spices, and bottled waters (rose, orange blossom) allowed us to daydream, if for a brief moment, that we were not in wintry London but rather a cozy cafe somewhere in the Med.

We kickstarted our fantasy of being somewhere sunny with healthy, freshly squeezed juices. The selection changes every day, but ask for the ginger one if it's on the menu - it's just the zesty pick me up you need on a cold, miserable day.

I was keen to venture into the tentative territory of going vegetarian, so Henry and I ordered three out of four dishes on the Veggie Heaven menu, some dips, and a shellfish dish to ease myself into the waters. The brilliant thing about the Ceru menu is that every non-meat dish is labelled for allergens and contents; gluten, vegan, vegetarian, dairy, nuts, eggs, even sesame seeds! It's very comforting to know that Ceru have gone to great care to inform their customers about what goes into the food, putting minds (and potential allergies) at ease. I myself don't have many dietary requirements but I imagine for those who do, a clearly labelled menu does make a whole world of difference.

We started our sampling of the flavours of the Levant with a Greek bread basket and four dips; pancar (roast beetroot, yoghurt, garlic and pistachio nuts), fadi (fried baby courgette puree with tahini, roast garlic, yoghurt & lemon), hummus with green chilli and lemon, and my favourite dip: the spicy roast red pepper- the walnut and pomegranate molasses made for a texture and sweet flavour unlike anything I've had, and I've had a lot of dip!

Henry loved the marinated and fried Haloumi with cherry tomatoes, black olives and oregano; something I'm keen to replicate at home to keep him (and vegetarian friends) happy. Curiously, this haloumi had an interestingly dense texture and felt satisfyingly thick, almost like meat.

I had the blue shelled Shetland Island mussels all to myself. The coriander and tomato soup was delicious and I found myself scooping the dregs from the terracotta pot with the empty shells long after I'd finished the mussels. My only wish was that it was accompanied with thick bread that I could soak up all the soup with and eat!

Henry enjoyed his herb zucchini fritters with feta cheese, which I forgot about because I was completely enraptured by...

...this, the aubergine dish! Roasted Chermoula aubergine with herb yogurt and spiced roast almonds. From the very first bite I was blown away by how perfectly nutty, rich, and sweet (but not overly so) the aubergine was, and how it was baked so well that every bite revealed that intoxicating aubergine smell! It's something I struggle to put in words, but aubergine lovers will know exactly what I mean. I expected the mussels to be my favourite, and I'm astounded to say that I enjoyed the humble aubergine even more than the shellfish!

On the topic of fishing, you might be happy to know that Ceru are advocates of sustainable fishing (Executive Chef Tom Kime is a campaigner) and the environment. This passion and respect for the living world can be seen in the seasonal menu, using ingredients sourced ethically and locally in the UK as well as from across the Levantine region encompassing Cyprus, Turkey, Lebanon and Israel.

Pleased that I was contributing somewhat to the sustainability of the environment while reducing my meat intake and trying something new, I allowed myself a treat in the form of dessert. I ordered the spice roast pears, which was tasty enough but was rather too heavy a pudding after such a filling meal. Yes, filling - I had not expected a mostly vegetarian lunch to fill me up as much as meat usually would, but there I was, struggling to get through a pudding! That was when I realised that I could easily get all the nutrition and energy I wanted on a vegetarian diet, and that I'd finally run out of excuses to not eat my greens.

Back to dessert - the pears, spiced with cinnamon zest would've been better suited to an after-dinner pudding on an especially cold day, being as warm and thick as it was. Henry's ice-cream baklava, however, was exactly the sweet treat I needed! This was incredible - it had all of my favourite ice-cream toppings; brittle nut, pistachio, burnt caramel...no words. You have to order this when you're at Ceru, I don't care how full you feel.

After the last of the plates were whisked away, I sipped on an invigorating yet calming fresh mint tea and contemplated the lessons learnt at Ceru that day - about how easy it was to live on a meat-free diet with a little imagination, about how surprisingly filling vegetables are, that I could easily power through a day with the right choices and perhaps slowly phasing meat out of my diet wasn't nearly as daunting - and certainly not boring! - as I thought it was. I went to Ceru expecting a 'light detox' sort of meal but left feeling no less full than if I would've eaten a regular meal yet I felt healthier for it, and slightly more educated, too!

Ceru will be going on tour from 1 May 2015, appearing at a number of major UK festivals, but in the meantime you can find their pop up at 29 Rathbone Place.

Thank you* for an afternoon of Levantine loveliness, Ceru, and for the healthy, delicious, vegetarian fare!

CERU | 29 Rathbone Place, London W1T 1JG

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*Henry and I were invited to review Ceru, but all opinions and words are, as always mine. Two photos in the first collage however are from the Ceru website, can you guess which?

February is my month of travel. By the end of it, the wheels of my adorably retro mint cabin bag will have rolled across airports in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hanoi, two cities in Borneo, and London. Last weekend I travelled across nine time zones in 24 hours alone - reaching Kuala Lumpur from London on Friday, before buzzing off to Bangkok the following morning. I know it all looks very shiny and jet set - maybe she's born with it, maybe it's an Instagram filter - but I assure you that there is nothing distinctly glamourous about the crippling jet lag that ensues the constant crossing of borders. Monday and Tuesday were public holidays in Malaysia so my family and I nipped over to Bangkok for a long weekend.

Bangkok is a favourite destination for myself and Michiekins - we always pop over to do our shopping there; whether for cutting-edge labels from up-and-coming designers at Siam Centre, or the wholesale delights of the labyrinth-like Platinum Mall, enjoying the creative window displays of our favourite upscale labels in glossy Siam Paragon, or haggling for cheap kitsch at chaotic Chatuchak Market. I've said it before, I'll say it again: "I shouldn't be shopping, Baht Siam-one's gotta do it." Sadly, this time round I didn't see much of Bangkok - my body clock was too messed up. I spent everyday sleeping in my Grand Deluxe room and every evening working till seven in the morning, only to nap two hours before going down for breakfast, then going back to sleep again only to rise from my coffin at dusk for dinner (blood...blooood). Never leaving the hotel in the daytime except for one afternoon to sightsee, shop (both for myself and for Regimental Vintage), only venturing out at night for dinner - does that sound like a wasted trip? I don't feel that way because I go to Bangkok fairly often and whenever I do I'm scurrying around all day, only ever being in the hotel to sleep. This time I actually got to enjoy the luxury of The St Regis Bangkok, which I now share with you!

The St Regis Bangkok boasts 'bespoke luxury' and located at a premier address in a prestigious location along Rajadamri Road is the perfect base to explore the more luxurious delights of the city, with many of the city’s finest restaurants and upscale boutiques nearby.

Sweet treats greeted me upon arrival in the hotel's first lobby, before butlers whisked us away to the second reception on the twelfth floor - home to the St Regis bar whose signature drink the 'Siam Mary' is a tribute to the hotel’s rich lineage (the Bloody Mary was invented at the St. Regis New York in 1934) with a distinct Bangkok twist of spicy Thai chili, wasabi, lime, coriander, Thai basil and lemongrass.

Some of my better writing was done in the balcony just outside the St Regis Bar, although my room was hardly a literal nor figurative cage...

...at 65 square metres, my Grand Deluxe room is nearly the same size as my first London flat. I would always receive deliveries from my butler at the landing area of my hallway, hasty to keep from his sight the horrific mess of my room lest it be too traumatising for the soft-spoken, demure, and refined nature of the Thais. Thankfully the long hallway, with the open plan bathroom beyond, acted as a buffer between mess and mind.

Two beds; one for sleeping in and one for napping in. The smart writing desk went unused except as a landing area for the contents of my handbag every time I switched my bags - I did most of my work from the sofa and of course the bar downstairs. From the floor-to-ceiling windows of my room I enjoyed the vast, verdant view of Royal Bangkok Sports Club (just outside the hotel), spying on golfers as their trotted across the endless green of the course.

Yellows, nude, and grey was the colour scheme for Bangkok and I daresay will be my sartorial palette for the month of February. For a pop of sunshiny goodness against a backdrop of grey I had my favourite Louis Vuitton WPM in pistachio (adorned with 'cat-puke hairballs' from Fendi, an addition by mummy); and my new Jeffrey Campbell sandals, a spiky purchase I made at Siam Centre as a precaution against oafish tourists stepping on my feet with their fat flip-flop clad feet. Louis Vuitton sunglasses spared the people of Bangkok the sight of my dark eye circles.

I wasn't always a recluse - I did venture out to sightsee and shop one afternoon (although I nearly collapsed from jet lag and heat exhaustion, our chauffeur had to whisk me back to St Regis where I spent all afternoon self-medicating with...Diet Coke), went out for dinner twice (I'll blog about those tomorrow!), did some buying for Regimental Vintage, and shopped at Patpong market for trinkets including some gorgeous hand-woven bags I will show you!

Oh, and I also dutifully showed my face at breakfast every morning, at Viu.

'Fauxcialite party animal Jasiminne' would have had the Astor Champagne breakfast with a banana mascarpone french toast for breakfast, but sadly my fabulous doppelgänger was nowhere to be seen - I heard she missed her flight - so Neanderthal Jasiminne just grunted and jabbed at her breakfast plate of dim sum, bacon, sausages, and pastries while glugging on...more Diet Coke. Analogies aside, Viu really is a lovely place to dine in. Inspired by the traditional New York bistro and describing itself itself as a bright, sunny environment that recalls the grace and character of a stately home, by night Viu is the place for foodies and culinary connoisseurs to embark on a gorgeous gastronomical experience with signature dinner dishes like Japanese Kobe beef fillet marinated in duck and pink French garlic oil confit, seasoned with Japanese Aguni sea salt.

There is no shortage of dining destinations at St Regis Bangkok, with fashionable restaurants Viu, Zuma and Jojo, The Lounge and The Drawing Room for afternoon tea, Decanter for oenophiles (wine connoisseurs), St Regis Bar for their signature Siam Mary, and for those whose idea of being well travelled is artfuly Instagramming their sandwiches and cocktails by the swimming pool there is always Pool Bar.

The service at St Regis is top notch as you would come to expect from a 5* luxury hotel. With its stunning guest rooms including 51 suites, St Regis butler service, myriad of acclaimed restaurants and its prime position in one of Bangkok's most prestigious addresses, The St Regis Bangkok is the perfect base from which to explore this colourful city. For more recommendations of where to shop and things to do you can peruse my previous Bangkok blog posts. More Bangkok blog posts coming up tomorrow and this weekend! x

THE ST REGIS BANGKOK | ถนน สีลม Bangkok 10330, Thailand

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On Sunday, in Bangkok’s upscale Siam Kempinski Hotel, I had the privilege of experiencing the first ever example of molecular gastronomy in Thailand. In 2009 the excitement over Heston Blu’s bangs n’ whistles had started to fade in the West, and it was late that year that Henrik Yde Andersen introduced molecular gastronomy to Thailand - bringing the artistry, theatrical deconstruction, and boundary pushing of texture, temperature, and form to Bangkok with Sra Bua. Sra Bua is the baby sister of restaurant Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen, which was founded by Danish-born Yde-Andersen after a 'life-changing' visit to Thailand, and is currently the only restaurant representing Thai cuisine in the Michelin-star guide (as the Michelin guide does not operate in Thailand). As it to be expected, we were presented with avant-garde interpretations of classical Thai dishes - tom yam, pad thai, red curry. A lot of if goes back to the source, inspired by street food favourites like the Chiang Mai sausages deconstructed to reveal that familiar ‘street food smell’ of engine smoke that reveals itself when presented only to dissipate immediately, much like the coming and going of motorcycles and tuk tuks by a busy night market. Sra Bua was my first experience with Thai molecular gastronomy and I found it all terribly interesting and rather magical - I daresay you might, too, so take my hand and steady on, the show is starting...

My family and I glided through the shimmering lobby of the exquisite Siam Kempinski - my photos do it no justice - down wood panelled hallways with glass displays of designer accessories and art exhibitions before we found the double doors of Sra Bua that opened up to reveal...

...the namesake of Sra Bua - a lotus pond, decorated with lily pods and lotus flowers floating ever so serenely.

The centrepiece of the restaurant has to be this four-poster canopy with intricate, traditional Thai-inspired lattice work, the shapes of which cast the most beautiful shadows that danced on the wooden beams above by the pendant lamp just below.

I was slightly disappointed that we didn't get that table, but in a way I'm glad that we got to enjoy the view of it - we were seated only just beside and I had a sweeping view of the restaurant, canopy included.

As my family and I were pressed for time (we only had 3 hours to spare for dinner), we had the 'mini version' of the Sra Bua dinner set menu - 2,200 baht for seven courses instead of ten, all of which was brought out to us with on-the-minute precision.

We kicked off the first leg of our culinary adventure with a trio of 'Nibblings' - Soy Roasted Cashew Nut Meringue, the Kaffir Lime Leaf Scented Lotus Root, and my personal favourite...

...the Prawn & Squid Cracker with Miso and Garlic.

We moved on to the Street Food chapter of our journey.

Miang Kham Cornette.

Tuna with Banana Flower & Lemongrass.

A dish whose name I can't recall - I can't find the mini dinner set menu on the Sra Bua website anymore, so if anyone knows the missing names of the dishes in this post (they are a few), please let me know.

So far, so conservative.

And then things start to get interesting.

We were presented with Chicken Satay on a wooden block, and under the bell jar we were told was the Chiang Mai sausage - a street food favourite in the night markets of Bangkok. The bell jar was lifted to reveal a swirl of mist and...smoke? The very distinct smell of engine smoke, puffs of burnt engine fuel that tuk tuks, scooters, and motorcycles alike emit as they dangerously weave in and out of Bangkok's infamous traffic, and like the smell of the food carts where Bangkok's best street food is created.

It was quite shocking, to smell the street markets of the city in the refined setting of an upscale hotel, but in a whiff it was gone, leaving behind a perfectly smoked array of Chiang Mai sausages.

The magical display of the smoking sausage was followed by a simple miso flan - egg custard with miso, garlic crisp and spring onion - which was a tad salty for my taste, Tom Yam Cold & Warm with Shellfish Galangal & Prawn Noodles (not pictured), a smattering of sesame-seed and chilli crusted nibbles served like dim sum in bamboo platters...

...and some rather smashing scallops, presented ever so minimally and with no frills but for the caramelised toppings.

Then we heard the pounding of stone on stone.

We turned our heads to see our server smashing and grinding herbs in a traditional pestle and mortar, the sort you find in South East Asian kitchens everywhere. With each thump of the pestle, the scent of herbs was released into the air, tantalising us for...

...our last starter, a soup topped with a cotton candy...

...which our waitress poured the freshly-prepared mixture of herbs and soup over...

...which melted the cotton candy away, to reveal our soup of cold shrimp, pomegranate, mint, and herbs.

About two hours into our meal we had been presented with twelve dishes (five courses altogether) most of it I found rather conservative - and then our main dish arrived...

...the quail in Aromatic Coconut Milk with Sautéed Mushroom, accompanied by that favourite Thai staple - coconut rice, which I mixed into my coconut milk for a traditional Asian dish with a Western twist.

Finally, our gastronomical adventure ended with pudding.

Banana Cake with Salted Ice Cream, coconut flakes, almonds, and caramel, served on a wooden plate. This pudding was outstanding - my father and I nabbed my brother's and his fiancé's (don't worry, they didn't miss it, by the time pudding came round they had long gone - some people just can't handle their desserts).

It was all very showy and theatrical - perhaps a bit too so for my perplexed father, who, bemused by the minute portions and bangs and whistles raised an eyebrow and asked: "So...when is the Thai food coming?" Ha! Jokes aside, even if Sra Bua wasn't as daring a molecular gastronomy experience as I was hoping for, it is still quite the experience and certainly one to add to your list of things to do in Bangkok, especially if you are a fan of modern twists on domestic dishes. I do recommend ordering the full dinner set menu instead of the abridged version we had, just to get a better scope of Henrik Yde Andersen artistry and vision. x

SRA BUA | Rama 1 Road 991/9, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

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Twelve dozen red roses with a hand-written card, a sexy slip from La Perla, a gorgeous red Saint Laurent clutch... Ladies, put your immaculately manicured hands up if you have high expectations this Valentine's Day but just know that without your outright instruction, your well-meaning but clueless men are going to just grab the first box of chocolates they see on their evening beer run.

Myself, all I want for Valentine's Day is for Henry to spend Chinese New Year with me, so I arranged for him to fly to Kuala Lumpur and Borneo, called the flights his birthday present, and even threw in two pairs of shoes for hiking in the jungle as part of my Valentine's Day gift to him - because his happiness is my happiness. See! The key to receiving the gifts you want is to get involved in the gifting process and outright tell the gifter what you want - leave no room for error! - and PANDORA have done just that with their new app for Valentine's Day - The Wishing Tree.

PANDORA have taken all of the guesswork out of gifting with The Wishing Tree - an enchanted magnolia tree fluttering with Valentine's messages. You simply write a heartfelt message to your loved one, tell them a bit about your jewellery preferences - by choosing your favourite metal, jewellery style and how you wear it - and PANDORA will send your wish to your Valentine with some suggestions from the Valentine’s Collection.

My favourite thing about The Wishing Tree is reading messages and wishes from other people to their lovers, friends, and family - there are some really sweet, touching, tearjerkers there!

My Valentine's wishes to Henry, with a not so subtle link for him to grant one of my shiny little desires. Just for fun, I entered the prize draw too - PANDORA are giving away ten lovely pieces from their Valentine's Collection - and winning is as simple as sharing a link on social media, here!

Perusing PANDORA's Valentine's Collection on their mobile app. This app is an absolute gem for men looking to buy sparklies for their loved ones without having to abandon the comfort of their man cave nor trip over the many obstacles of choices - Gold? Silver? What the heck is white gold, isn't that like silver? Do your man a favour - download the app onto his phone and nudge him in the direction of the PANDORA Gift Finder where he can choose the perfect addition to your jewellery collection; based on jewellery type, metal, colour, and budget. Or, you could use the app yourself and make a wishlist with Pandora Club Integration, and with easy sharing options you can send hints about what you like via Facebook or email. Gentlemen - here's to a pain free Valentine's gift shopping experience. Ladies - don't forget to tie your wishes to the Wishing Tree and tell your loved ones how you feel. x

PANDORA Wishing Tree | PANDORA Valentine's Collection | PANDORA Gift Finder | PANDORA mobile app

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Mummy and I arrived in Hanoi on Sunday for a little reconnaissance mission of a hospitality nature and we checked into Intercontinental Hanoi Westlake - one of mummy's company's hotels in Hanoi - which would be our base for our short trip in Vietnam.

This is my first ever visit to Hanoi - shocking, I know, given its proximity to and accessibly from Kuala Lumpur - and my first impression of this developing city was: Whoa, Hanoi is every bit as hectic as everyone says it is! I've heard about Hanoi's infamous traffic and how you do not wait for the never-ending stream of motorcycles to stop before crossing the road, simply because the traffic never stops coming. You just have to steel your nerves, walk across the tide, and let the motorbikes and cars drive around you. I'd feel like Moses crossing the Red Sea as the waves parted for him, except that the entire time I was convinced I was going to meet my end at the wheels of one of the hundreds of motorcycles, tuk tuks, cars, and bicycles speeding toward me with no sign of slowing down only to evade me at the very last moment. Just take the locals' advice: do not freeze mid-crossing and definitely do not turn back unless you want to confuse traffic and cause a pile up. Oh, and the non-stop honking and beeping? Don't take it personally, it's not aimed at you (actually, it kind of is) - it's just a friendly warning to keep calm and carry on defying death even as you stride resolutely across the path of an army of incoming traffic. Two days in and my heart still hasn't left my throat and gone back down into my chest.

Anyway, this is a photo diary because I'm too pressed for time to blog properly - it's nearly midnight here in Hanoi and I have to be up in seven hours to leave for Ha Long Bay - but I promise more words in my second blog post on Hanoi (or maybe less words, if you like that sort of thing? Let me know in the comments). For now, here are my photos from Day 1 in Hanoi. Enjoy. x

Cherry blossoms are in season in Vietnam and it is a common sight to see entire trees strapped to the back of bicycles and motorbikes, to be taken to their new homes.

Mine and mummy's Executive Suite at Intercontinental Hanoi Westlake. Perfectly sized for two.

The view from our balcony.

The Old Quarter is the shopping district of Hanoi with each street dedicated to and named after a specific ware that's sold there. For example, there's Silk Street and Shoe Street, where I bought two pairs of hiking shoes for Henry. The sizes are catered for big-footed Westerners, with many styles surprising only available in larger sizes like 45 and up.

Many of the colonial style buildings display Vietnam's French influence.

Another common sight in Hanoi - beautifully carved wooden cages with song birds hanging from telephone wires and outside shops.

As is vendors selling their wares from baskets carried from street to street. Beware, the moment you make eye contact with them they will try to sell you something, and they don't always take no for an answer!

The traffic never ebbs, it just flows - believe it or not, you are expected to walk across this and just have faith that the motorcycles will know how to weave in and out of the pedestrians.

It may be shocking to animal-lovers in the West to see cats being transported in wire baskets on the back of bicycles but believe me, this is hardly the most astonishing creature I've seen on an open vehicle. I saw a golden retriever standing on the footrest of a scooter as his master drove down a highway with his dog literally at his feet.

After a chaotic first day in Hanoi it was quite a relief to go home to my peaceful suite and enjoy this stunning view of Hanoi's bays...until I realised I had to wake up early in the morning and do it all over again.

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My first day in Hanoi was spent learning how to confidently cross the road (stride steadily and determinedly across the path of never-ending traffic; don't pause, freeze, or turn back, and let the motorcycles drive around you). On my second (and last) day in this colourful, chaotic Socialist republic capital I woke up early and tried to take in as many of Hanoi's iconic sights as possible as well as a few local favourites.

After a hearty breakfast at The InterContinental Hanoi Westlake I had the driver wait for me while I strode across Ba Dinh Square to visit the revered Uncle Ho in his final resting place in Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Interestingly, of the 8 embalmed world leaders you can visit most of them are communist - Lenin (the trendsetter), Stalin, Chairman Mao, and of course Uncle Ho. Most visitors to his mausoleum are Vietnamese who make the pilgrimage to pay their respects to the founding father of the free people of Vietnam, the liberator who threw off the shackles of colonialism and united North and South into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The pomp and ceremony of the changing of the guard outside Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is said to rival that of Buckingham Palace but sadly I saw neither that nor entered the Mausoleum as I was underdressed for Hanoi's cold weather, so I left the mile long queue and sought out a coffee to warm myself up.

For a cafe with 15 branches across Hanoi, Cong Ca Phe has lost none of it's eclectic, down-to-earth, and homely charm. Find them at 32 Dien Dien Phu for a cozy little spot of coffee and a peaceful place to people watch on a cold, rainy day in hectic Hanoi.

After coffee we paid a visit to The Temple Of Literature, a Confucian temple that hosted the Imperial Academy - Vietnam's first university.

At over 900 years old, The Temple Of Literature is an exceptional example of Vietnamese architecture with strong Chinese influences - the layout mirroring that of the temple of Confucius's birthplace in Shandong, China. When the university was first established in 1076 only noblemen could enrol, but eventually the university was open to talented students nationwide - 82 of which have their names, places of birth, and exceptional achievements in Confucianism, literature and poetry inscribed in stone monuments in the temple grounds.

Crossing the road to the Vietnamese Fine Arts Museum I explored three floors of paintings and sculptures (including a room devoted to some terrifyingly realistic Buddha - and not the cheerful, corpulent ones; I mean the emaciated ones devoted to a life of enlightenment through deprivation) describing the history of Vietnamese art. It was all reasonably interesting, although it could have been better displayed with more descriptions. The highlight of this visit was a newly-opened group show of seven Vietnamese contemporary artists - Ngay Ve 1 - Returning Day 1st.

Hmmmmm, something is afoot...

I believe the artist was making a statement about the masochism of wearing high heels for a long day out and about. No, not really.

I'm rather pleased with this shot and the gradient colours of the greenery of Hanoi, the orange facade of the building, and the jet-black sleekness of my car. Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su is a local favourite for Pho - Vietnam's famous noodle soup and some would say national dish - in the heart of Old Quarter, Hanoi's shopping district. It's a no-frills, hole in the wall sort of place where service is brisk (some would say curt) and the menu is simple - just six or seven variations of pho. I had the classic (beef brisket with yau char kwai - fried Chinese donut) for 45,000 dong - £1.30 - delicious, down-to-earth, and so quintessentially Vietnamese.

After lunch it was time for a spot of tea at St Honore, a French patisserie on Xuan Dieu Street - Hanoi's wealthy expatriate district - where beautiful, delicate French pastries, rainbow rows of pastel-coloured macarons, and exquisite edible trees were the order of the day.

I had a deliciously sweet yet tart mango and passionfruit cake, a pistachio macaron, and a mint macaron - just the sugary treat I needed for a hit of energy to continue my exploration of the city.

Having washed down the pho and cakes with more coffee, I headed back to Old Quarter with mummy for a spot of shopping and sight-seeing before dinner. Mummy bought shell and mother-of-pearl tableware for her new Borneo apartment while I came away with a gorgeous, wonderfully heavy, red silk dressing gown embroidered with gold dragons (just the thing to bring me prosperity and luck for Chinese New Year) with the softest black lining, also decorated with hand-stitched gold dragons, that I daresay I can also wear inside out.

We crossed Martyr's monument to Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple.

Legend has it that Hoan Kiem Lake - Lake of the Returned Sword - one of Hanoi's focal points in the historic centre of the city was renamed as such after Emperor Le Loi, while boating on the lake was visited by the Golden Turtle God who surfaced from the green waters of the lake and asked for his magic sword, Heaven's Will. The Emperor concluded that Golden Turtle God, Kim Qui had come to reclaim the sword that its master, the Dragon King had bestowed to him during his revolt against the Chinese Ming Dynasty. And so the lake, formerly known as Luc Thuy (Green Water) was renamed Hoan Kiem where the Turtle Tower stands in the middle of the lake on a tiny island, a living link to the legend of the lake.

We crossed the famous red bridge to Ngoc Son Temple - The Temple Of The Jade Mountain - a Buddhist pagoda and temple for the cult of a deified Chinese warrior, Quan Cong, which later evolved into the temple for the Spirits of Literature and of the Soil. The shrine is now dedicated to Tran Hung Dao, a 13th century Vietnamese military national hero, scholar Van Xuong, and to Confucian master Nguyen Van Sieu.

With a little time before dinner, and with darkness fast approaching on a winter evening, myself and my party headed, at my insistence, to nearby Cafe Giang to try their famous Vietnamese egg coffee. Egg coffee is a thick, sweet, creamy concoction of egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and coffee, and has been a Vietnamese staple since the '50s. Cafe Giang's version, sometimes served with cheese, and always presented in a bowl of hot water to keep the coffee warm, is especially known in Hanoi for their inventive and unusual take on coffee which the cafe founder's son claimed was born from a shortage of milk in Vietnam, replacing dairy with egg yolk. Dense and sweet, this is a coffee for those who like theirs creamy and almost dessert-like - Buzzfeed have described egg coffee as 'liquid tiramisu'!

Somehow I still had room for dinner, and just as well, for our last gastronomical stop of Hanoi was acclaimed French restaurant La Verticale.

In an imposing four-story villa behind the French Embassy, La Verticale opened in 2007 to great acclaim and ranked one of the top 100 world best new restaurants by Conde Nast magazine the following year. Chef Didier Corlou creates exciting new dishes (curry ice-cream, anyone?) by marrying French flair with Vietnamese flavours; a nod to the French influence in Vietnam.

Although I only ordered three dishes - a starter, a main, and a pudding - I was brought palate cleansers between each course that was exquisite and elaborate enough to be dishes of their own. And so my modest three course dinner turned into a six course affair.

My starter - the 'Concentrate Shellfish': a roll of flower crab, prawns and lobster, and apple and pomelo grelette with cripsy green asparagus.

My main - the pink lobster with Nha Trang rhubarb candied in orange juice Indochina vanilla and bisque. A showcase of contrasting yet complimentary flavours; from acidity to the sweetness of vanilla, and the crispy texture of coconut heart.

I polished off the meal with a winter dessert - a platter of pretty puddings; poached pear, sundae with caramelised biscuit, and pastries flecked with almonds and fruit. La Verticale was a lovely culinary experience - a perfect high note to end with, and quite the contrast to the traditional Vietnamese lunch and coffee that day. I slept like a baby on my second and last night in Hanoi, all the better to wake up bright and early the next morning for a cruise down Vietnam's picturesque Ha Long Bay. Photo diary of Ha Long Bay to come, tomorrow! x

On my third and last day in Vietnam I sought out the mythical Ha Long Bay. Ha Long Bay - 'Where the dragon descends into the sea' - is a cluster of thousands of limestone islands rising from the jade waters of Vietnam, praised by poets as 'the rock wonder in the sky'. Legend has it that a young Vietnam were sent a family of dragons as protectors from the gods to defend this new country from invaders. The dragons spat out jewels and jade, which turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, and linked to form a great wall. These rock mountains abruptly appeared on the sea, ahead of the enemy, striking and sinking their ships. After the Vietnamese emerged triumphant, their defenders remained in the bay - the place where the mother dragon descended was christened Hạ Long, the place where the dragon's children attended upon their mother was named Bai Tu Long island, and the place where the dragon's children wriggled their tails violently was called Bach Long Vy.

Today, Ha Long Bay is a Unesco Heritage site and one of the Seven Wonders Of Nature. In summer, Ha Long Bay sees hordes of visitors arrive in ships and boats to marvel at these spectacular limestone grottoes, climb the caves within, and admire the sparkling turquoise water. In February, Ha Long Bay is shrouded in ethereal mist lending it an otherworldly air, and it was this mysterious face that I admired from the deck of a cruise ship. If you are planning a trip to Ha Long Bay in summer, skip the karaoke bars and highrise hotels of Halong City. Stay the night on a cruise ship instead and spend your day slowly taking in the two thousand islets of the bay, explore the vast grottoes of Hang Đầu Gỗ (Wooden stakes cave - Grotte des Merveilles), see the floating villages, shop from the women (often with children in tow) who row up to your ship in their little boats; and organise a sailing trip to off-the-beaten-track Lan Ha Bay for stretches of pristine white sandy beaches and rock climbing. x

Ha Long Bay Vietnam - Cruise, Tours, and Tourist Information

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Jasiminne Yip's Bermondsey artist studio

Today I present an interiors post on a space of mine that many have been asking about for a while - my artist studio.

The backstory: a year ago I got my first taste of working in such a space when I was sharing a fixer upper with a friend in the now defunct V22 studios, Bermondsey. I have nothing but fond memories of the place -as spartan and ramshackle as it was - blasting Drunk In Love on repeat while working on my collaboration painting with Moët & Chandon then for dinner sampling the culinary offerings of nearby Bermondsey Street. After V22 closed for good, I convinced myself I absolutely had to have a studio of my own, as a self-validation of sorts. Some people feel better about themselves if they have the latest Celine handbag, Ferrari, a child...I felt like I would be 'complete' if I had an artist studio. So last September I started searching for one. Believe me when I say that the perfect artist studio is hard to come by, much like the search for the perfect home. My requirements were simple; at least 200 square feet, a large window with plenty of natural light, close to where I live (Shoreditch) and no more than £200 per month. HA! I do love to dream, don't I? Somehow, I found all of that and even more miraculously I beat at least eight other people interested in the space who had been on the waiting list longer than I. Last October I got the keys to the first artist studio that I could call my very own and I was actually more ecstatic than the day I bought my first London apartment.

What I did not foresee through a haze of excitement was that the studio was too big for my needs. I believe the saying is 'an embarrassment of riches' or rather in my case 'too much, too soon'. I was too taken in by the fantasy of having a vast, high-ceilinged, light-filled artist studio that I didn't think that I actually didn't need that sort of space - in hindsight all I actually needed was a space half that size, a third even - and without thinking it through I moved my home office out of my dining room and into the studio where it sat, unloved and used, beside my painting desk in a studio filled with canvases, a plinth, and drawers of paints that I wished I had used more of. To be fair, I did a lot of work in that studio - my only gripe was that I didn't need nearly as much space as I thought I did, so I made use of it by inviting my friend Nichole to paint there with me and also Henry to move our Regimental Vintage headquarters there. Three people, three functions in one studio...if that isn't a sign I have too much room, I don't know what is.

So now you know my secret shame and the real reason why it's taken me nearly four months to show you my artist studio. The title says it all - too much, too soon. Ashamed by my greed and waste - especially since such spaces in London are hard to come by - I ended my lease on the studio, moved my home office back into my apartment yesterday as I had planned to for 2015, and when I return from my annual Chinese New Year travels I'm going to start looking for another studio that's half the size. Start small, baby. Without further ado - I'm sorry this introduction is so long, but I felt you deserved an explanation - here are pictures of my artist studio which I will always look back on with the fondest of memories.

A lot of the furniture in the studio was salvaged and upcycled - one person's trash is my treasure! - such as the steel shelves, the white plinth, the shoe rack turned bookshelf, the beer bottle crate, the black office chair, and the mucky paint-streaked desk. Only the white office desk, Kartell ghost chair (taken from my living room, luckily I had two!), easel, and white drawers are mine.

A print I bought years ago for my first apartment as a not-so-subtle hint to my then-champagne-socialist-boyfriend to get his butt off benefits and get a job. Today it reminds me about the joys of work, as does the two motivational posters I printed and framed to prop at the window.

The Buckland's beer crate and Veuve Clicquot champagne bucket was found by Henry, the shoe rack and sad-looking plant I rescued from the trash. Yes, that is an action man figure.

My beauty and skincare saviours from long days of handling corrosive material and being elbow deep in grime.

A view of the work stations. The studio is square shape and at over 200 square feet that works out to each wall being just over 18 feet long. One wall accommodated two desks side-by-side (one grimy desk for painting, a sleek white one for office work) and the Regimental Vintage corner - two industrial clothing rails and piles of stock, just out of sight.

That pile of bags you see under the rail is just a fifth of the Regimental Vintage stock Henry and I have which is now safely locked away in a storage unit that is five times smaller than my studio. Perhaps I should just work from the storage unit instead of an artist studio.

My office desk. Can you guess from my mood board (really just print outs taped clumsily to the wall) what I'm working on?

The mint green lamp was a Christmas present from Henry that I absolutely adore, and the postcards are illustrations I did for Tresor Paris.

God, that painting desk is grimy but I do love it. I found it folded up by the trash and gave it a new lease of life in the studio where Nichole promptly made it even more paint-stained.

My drinks cart - when working I live on a diet of coffee, tea, and whisky - with a cat postcard I bought for Henry in Rome, a framed postcard I found at a car boot sale, and a framed photo of the one time I modelled for Regimental.

And finally, the windows that made me fall in love with this studio and made me snap it up so hastily. You can't tell from this photo but by night it has such a lovely view of London - you can see the Shard lit up in the distance against a sea of the city lights, and on some days the sunset is a brilliant sea of red, pink, and orange.

I'm not going to lie, I am already missing this studio, but as I've handed this space back to the building I hope that the next artist will have more use for the generous space than I did. I've moved my home office into my bedroom (where I'll be doing my blogging work from), the Regimental Vintage stock and the excess furniture into storage where it will be waiting for new homes: a new brick and mortar shop for the fashion side of my work, and a smaller studio for my art work.

I hope you enjoyed the studio tour as much as I've enjoyed those wonderful times I spent in it, and I'm looking forward to sharing my new home office soon - just as soon as I organise and furnish it properly. x

I'm so lucky I got to spend Valentine's Day with some of my best friends; in fact my day was devoted to the celebration of not one, but two birthdays - my best friend (and you know I don't use that phrase lightly) Michiekins, and Loui.

First port of call was *chika chika* Limshady's All White Pool Party - think Hamptons meets Ibiza vibes; a white chocolate fountain, all white errrrthang from linen to the balloons to the party wear (even for the DJs flown into K.L just for this whitest of occasions). Birthday boy was too busy being thrown into the pool and attacked by inflatable animals so I left Loui to do his thing, caught up with Ash and bonded with Fran over Harry Potter conspiracy theories (I sure do know how to party). When evening fell, I dashed off to Mont Kiara for Michiekin's pool party (notice a theme here?) in the sky, well, the Sky Beach. Just like her birthday last year; we rolled around the grass while Chef Marcus (her hubs) grilled up sone seriously deliciously giant prawns (and squid...and chicken wings...mmm) before jumping into the hot tub with ice-cold champagne. To wrap this post up in a big birthday bow, my V-Day was all about friends, birthdays, and pools. As lucky as I am that my beloved will be joining me in K.L tomorrow (and Borneo for Chinese New Year), I know that some of my friends are feeling crummy about being single on a day where ostentatious displays of affection are de rigeur. I'm just saying that Valentine's Day isn't about being with a lover - love comes in many forms including being with your friends on their special day. Anyway, enough of my words - picture time! x

Welcome to the Hamptons. Or Ibiza. Or something. "Didn't somebody tell you that this was an all white party?!" - White Chicks

Half the pool (the side closest to the DJ) was full of raucous, rippling, wet muscle - clearly the ones who go to the gym. The other half was empty and flanked by sun beds where non-gym goers like myself languidly lounged on with their clothes resolutely on. Ain't nobody ready for my jelly...

Happy Birthday Louuiiii!

Tapao-ed (takeaway) a cupcake (white, naturally) for sustenance which I ate en route to Michiekins'.

Let's get the party started🎉🎉🎉
A photo posted by Nana👑 (@nanabwincess) on Feb 14, 2015 at 3:50am PST

Another year of celebration, happy birthday MichieKins❤️ Wearing everything from @mermaiddreamsmy 👙
A photo posted by Nana👑 (@nanabwincess) on Feb 14, 2015 at 4:32am PST

Serious deja vu - for Michiekins' last birthday her party was in this very same Sky Beach. But last birthday she was pregnant with Mika, and now he's in his pram taking a disco nap downstairs.

And the other difference this year is that this time the hot tub was actually hot. A little too hot even. Probably because my friends are too hot to handle haha. Turn uuup

Happy Birthday Michiekins!

What did you do on Valentine's Day? Answers on a postcard! x

...We're bringing sexyblack (yeah) them other girls don't know how to dress (yeah)...

Will you just look at my girls all lined up like a girl band? I want to say K-Pop girl group but there's only seven of us - we need at least two more members to make the numbers, ha. Hot damn, are my girlfriends bringing sexy-black or what - and we're all black everything, all black all black 'cos Michiekins said so. That's right. On Sunday we, the Backseat Girls (I'll explain later) synchronised and dressed more or less head-to-toe in black for Michiekin's birthday high tea at the swanky new-ish M Marini Caffè in Suria KLCC. You know what that means - lots of fashion outfit photos! *flexes*

"Selamat pagi, boss. Nak pergi mana, boss?" Where to, sir? Chauffeur Jasiminne at your service. The 7 of us piled into Jumbo - my big bitchin' lane hogger - and rumbled from Mont Kiara to the city. Ever seen a chauffeur in designer threads and red lips? Yeah, there's a first for everything.

With Sheena in the front and playing DJ with my Spotify, the entire journey soon degenerated into a Backstreet Boys sing-a-long session...for two. The rest of the car absolutely refused to participate. Hence, our 90s/00s pop tribute band was born - Sheena, Jasiminne & The Backseat Girls.

You see you see you see! Look at this Michiekins and Sukins ah. Muka tak layan (not having any of it). Guess it's just me and Sheena...and the Backseat Girls. 'Everybody yeah! Yeaaaah. Rock your body yeaaaaah'. No? OK fine haha. 'Am I original? Yeaaah. Am I sexual? Yeaaaaah!'

By some stroke of luck we pulled up to a quiet street just outside KLCC (where Cartier is), mere seconds walking distance from M Marini Caffè and found a space between two cars illegally parked on a street. I took a chance and wedged my car there - in Kuala Lumpur it's legal until you get a ticket. When we went back for my car, the car in front of mine had a summons...but not me! Oh yeaaah! ...Roadhouse.

While M Marini Caffè is tucked away in a discreet (but admittedly high end) corner of KLCC's concourse, once you come upon its neighbours Cartier and Chanel there's no missing it.

Rising from the baroque gilt and marble furnishings of the caffè stands Michelangelo's David - his modesty protected by an artfully draped gold sheet - against a backdrop of a photo panorama of Venetian water ways.

Press photo courtesy of M Marini Caffè

The entire cafe is drenched in gold light - befitting of the luxurious surroundings - which makes for a gilded ambience but not so great photography, which is a shame because M Marinis is the sort of place to see and be seen. With an emphasis on 'la dolce vita' (the good life) and the tagline Caviar. Champagne. Caffè, M Marini Caffè is Malaysia's first champagne and caviar cafe - a new concept of 'Italian Caffè culture meets the spirit of Italian couture' from Modesto Marini following the success of Marini's on 57. Kuala Lumpur's best dressed, well-heeled socialites, clusters of gossiping Datins stopping for a tea break from exhausting shopping sessions at the nearby designer shops all flock to M Marinis for lobsters from the frutti di mare (seafood) bar, cold pasta topped with caviar, cocktails; or like us - the high tea and the all day breakfast.

Personally, I was unimpressed with the food. Our high tea offerings were unspectacular - both in presentation and variety - and relatively exorbitantly priced given what we ate - bog standard sausage rolls, macarons, and an uninspiring selection of average sandwiches and muffins. I ordered the eggs benedict for myself - while the unusual presentation of the eggs with a slice of toast, spinach, and potatoes was fairly innovative at first the novelty quickly wore off when I soon realised one of the eggs wasn't perfectly poached. Sheena and Michelle's spaghetti carbonara, however, was decent - perhaps M Marini's culinary strengths are not best displayed in their all day breakfast menu nor pastries but rather, as its Italian roots suggested, in the pastas and seafood. My verdict? Not the place to go for high tea - in fact of all the high tea I've had in Kuala Lumpur none of it meets my expectations but then again I have high standards as I live in London and have had some of the best - nor eggs benedict. Stick to the caviar (if that's your sort of thing), have a cocktail, go for the pastas, or try the seafood.

You can find M Marini Caffè at Suria KLCC, Ground Floor (beside Cartier and Chanel).

Group photo! Massive props to the staff (if you're reading this, thank you, and I'm sorry I didn't catch your name!) who was ever so fastidious with our cameras and took so many shots to work around the difficult lighting in M Marini's and get the best possible shot. Thank you!

The yellow lighting proved frustratingly tricky - no amount of adjusting the white balance would help take portraits, and no amount of Photoshop would remove that jaundiced hue so I did my favourite editing trick - as mentioned in my blog post 'How To Shoot In Low Light' - and made the photos black & white instead. I think it works! And it goes with the 'sexyblack' theme.

Birthday girl Michiekins! Aiyaiyai-yai-yai, so cute and pweetty my Ah Pin Pin-Pin. Can you believe she's 29 and just had a baby? Wait till you see her impossibly slim figure (with upsized bust thanks to baby) - life is so unfair. *puts chocolate bar down and renews gym membership* Love you Ah Pin!

Anyeong gozaimasu, Sheena-chan! (We love to mix up our Korean and Japanese) My doll-faced soul sister (but cuter than me) who secretly is just as tak jaga image (doesn't give a damn) and mengada (fanciful) as I am, hehe. Sarang hae!

Lovely, feisty yet level-headed (what a perfectly balanced combination), adventurous Lina! We all are thrilled to have you back in K.L - we're selfish and don't want to lose you to Singapore, we love you too much. Please never leave us again!

Hello Jill! Jillian's creativity and ability has evolved a lot in the last two years, and she has a real skill for DIY - you can read her amazing tutorials on her blog Jillian Undercover - and a great eye for curating beautiful things. See her selection of jewellery and gorgeous gold tattoos at her online shop Poppylab.

Nanaxiao mei mei (little sister)! My little Leo and Gen-Z baby - although technically a Gen-Y I'll always think of you as a naughty but nice little sister. I'm so proud of how much you've matured in the past year and how hard you're working; not just on your career and life but also on your relations. Jia you!

Suuuuusuuuuuu! Sukins is my homegirl, and before Nana came along the two of us were the original Leos who torment our sweet Aquarius Michiekins hehe. I love you so much babeh and you know it - can't wait for us to be neighbours!

I am so lucky to call these girls, wait, women!...we be strong, independent, grown-ass women (even if we still don't feel like adults yet) my friends. Even though I buggered off to London and only see them whenever I'm in K.L once or twice a year, whenever I'm with them it's like nothing has changed (even if we don't speak or update each other for ages, which I'm guilty of) yet we have so much to talk about. I'm so privileged to have girlfriends like these, let alone in a far-away continent I don't live in anymore, and I know that should the winds of fate carry me from England back to Malaysia I got ya'll to welcome me back and listen to my tasteless jokes and dramatic outbursts of song and dance. Love you ladies!

'Ok, ok' you say, 'we get it, your girlfriends are beautiful on the inside. Now can we see how beautiful they are on the outside?' Of course! That's why I carried my 600D and two lenses in my limited edition Lady Dior handbag.

...and then there's me. *Deflated sound* Not to blow my own horn, but I am pleased with my outfit. I'm wearing the same dress I did last year to my grandmother's birthday at Chateau, Berjaya Hills with one of mummy's handbags. The dress is the 'Kyoto Spring' from Chula by Laura and Diego who paint on silk dresses, making them wearable works of art. To compliment the hand painted cherry blossoms and red leaves, I matched with a limited edition Lady Dior and finished the look with red lips (which I let down by wearing nude wedged mules, hence the cropped photo).

But it's ok, because questionable accessories (and mediocre food) aside, life's a lark with girlfriends like these.

Call us the Backseat Girls, Sexyblack, F.R.I.E.N.D.S in The City (we have Michiekins to thank for that gem) or whatever you want. We're just girlfriends united by love - for love of Michiekins, for love of each other, for love of the finer things in life, and for love of my off-key sing-a-longs in the car.

Maybe not the last one, but let me just delude myself for a moment.

Posh Broke Bored - Make your own stylish camera bag

How does a stylish woman reconcile her love for fashionable handbags with her need to carry heavy camera equipment? Ah, that enduring blogger conundrum (don't say 'Emasculate your boyfriend into being your full-time camera monkey'). Shock, surprise, but yes, you can carry a limited edition Lady Dior handbag on a day out with your girlfriends with a camera, two lenses, a stack of business cards, two polarising filters, AND your other everyday bits and bobs! The solution is so painfully obvious, that I can't believe it's taken me so many months of letting my Canon 600D get knocked about in my purse and my lenses wrapped in scarves to protect them from getting scratched.

The answer, my fashionable friends, is camera bag inserts.

Let's say you already have a perfectly functional camera bag but it just doesn't go with your outfit - some days you just have to carry your beloved Birkin or favourite Prada Saffiano without having to compromise your camera. Odds are your camera bag comes with a removable insert, if so, voila - just whip it out, transfer the insert to your handbag; and store your DSLR and lenses as you usually would. When it comes to camera bag inserts you're spoilt for choice for colour, compartments, and even price points - shop around at camera shops; or online at eBay, Amazon, etc. I've got my eye on The 'ONA' Any Bag Camera Bag Insert. I'm also drawn to the utilitarian look of the bestselling Ciesta Flexible padded camera insert (so many partitions!) and I want this waterproof camera insert just because it's such a sunny yellow, and so cheap, too!

Suppose your handbag du jour is a dainty clutch with no room for a camera bag insert? Do what I do - invest in a Longchamp Pliage tote.

The Longchamp Pliage large tote bag is a discreet, unpretentious, design classic whose simple lines and utilitarian function compliments most daytime outfits. Slung over and behind your shoulder, it's practically invisible especially if your Pliage is the same colour as your outfit of the day - and at such a reasonable price it'll hardly break your budget to have a few in different colours for different occasions (last I checked, I have two in black, one in red, one in pink, one in purple, and one in navy) - and the long straps make it ideal for a busy day of running around the city looking for the perfect backdrop to shoot. Even with a camera bag insert, two lenses, and a crop frame camera; the Pliage is roomy enough to accommodate my wallet, my smartphones and tablet, a couple of chargers, notebook, makeup...this bag is a bottomless wormhole, like Doraemon's pocket. The Pliage is made from nylon - I can carry it without being too precious about setting it down on the street, grass, or floor (unlike my mother's Kellys and Birkins that get their own seats at restaurants).

A quick peek at my current go-to-neccesities for a day of shooting...

...my Longchamp Pliage large tote bag (naturally), and my new Adidas training shoes. Training for what? To be an awesome photographer, obvs.

In my camera bag I always carry my Canon 600D, business cards, two filters (polarising and UV) and two or three lenses.

LENSES

The 24mm f2.8 is a portable wide angle lens that I use for landscapes, street shots, and interior snaps.

My favourite lens for portraits, the 85mm f1.8 (not pictured) is my lens of choice for Regimental Vintage shoots and for taking sneaky portraits of subjects from a distance.

Then there is the 'nifty fifty' - the 50mm f1.8 portrait lens that every fashion blogger swears by, and no wonder! Unbelievably cheap, with a bit of clever handling it takes street style and outfit photos with that wonderfully soft background that 'people photographers' can't get enough of.

That's why my camera bag is so big, it's full of secrets. Photography secrets.

I'll do a proper blog post on all my camera lenses (and their individual pros and cons), soon! In the meanwhile here are some blog posts on cameras, lenses, and photography tips that I've found very helpful. Hopefully you will, too - have a look!

8 BLOG POSTS ON CAMERAS AND PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS YOU MUST READ

1. Urban Pixxels - What’s In My Camera Bag
2. My Pale Skin - The Bloggers Guide To Camera Lenses - Introduction
3. My Pale Skin - The Bloggers Guide To Camera Lenses - Part One - Focal Length
4. Media Marmalade - Top 5 Blog Photography Tips
5. A Beautiful Mess - Photography Gear
6. A Beautiful Mess - All About Prime Lenses & Focal Lengths
7. IHeart Organizing - IHeart Blogging Series: Photography Tips
8. Posh, Broke, & Bored - Hello, Darkness! Shooting In Low Light

If you've got any photography blogs for me to follow on Bloglovin' (I'm new to BL!) let me know - you can find Posh, Broke, & Bored here! x

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Happy Chinese New Year from Borneo! 恭喜發財, 萬事如意 (gongxi facai, wanshi ruyi) - Wishing you prosperity and may all your wishes be fulfilled.

Some of you reading this (hello, Malaysians!) are probably either driving back or flying down to the city from the kampung this weekend after a satisfying binge of all things festive and buttery. Ever year the fam and I flock back to my mother's kampung in Kota Kinabalu (KK), Sabah and this year is no exception - but with one big difference. One big, white, bearded difference - my Henry! For his birthday - which I missed because I was in Kuala Lumpur - I flew him down to Kuala Lumpur, then to KK, where I introduced him to my gramps at his first Chinese New Year; which, we both agree is far superior to non-Chinese New Year for one very good reason. CNYs in sleepy Sabah tend to be a big snoozefest but this The Year Of The Goat I embrace the slow pace of Kota Kinabalu. Henry and I embraced being reacquainted after weeks apart; whiling away the hot, lazy days with long drives along the coastline, enjoying the unspoken bliss of ice cubes clinking in our glasses by the pool, and splashing about the turquoise waters of the South China Sea. Today is the second part of my birthday present to Henry - getting up close and personal with orangutans and other Bornean wildlife - which hopefully will yield some striking critter photos that I can share with you.

For now, some photos from my Chinese New Year in Borneo to kick off the year of the wood goat.

Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu. A 5* star hotel with faultless service (perhaps for me because I'm a Starwood Preferred Guest) but in desperate need of a facelift, or at least a good scrub - grubby carpets in the lift and hallway, dated furnishings, and the permeating scent of the Filipino market across which could be neutralised with some well-placed lemongrass or pandan.

Jesselton Point in downtown KK is the perfect starting point to explore the islands of Sabah; the most popular being Pulau Sapi, Pulau Manukan, and Pulau Mamutik of Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. Every Chinese New Year, hordes of native Chinese flee their landlocked mainland to seek out Sabah's reasonably-clear waters and enjoy the laid-back pace of Borneo away from the urban chaos of, say, Guangzhou or Beijing.

Our first time on a tropical island together! Parasailing, sea walking, jet skiing and ziplining between islands - lets do this! 😆🌊🏊🐬🐠 #northborneo #borneo #sapiisland #island #tropical #paradise #sun #sea #sand #sabah #malaysia
A photo posted by Jasiminne Yip (@jasiminne) on Feb 19, 2015 at 7:51pm PST

While neither the waters are as clear as Redang nor the sand as powdery white as Langkawi, Sapi Island is still a decent destination for snorkelling, jet skiing, parasailing, and of course the famous Coral Flyer Zipline - the world's longest island zipline, between Gaya and Sapi islands.

Photo by Henry. Instagram: @regi_mental

Sapi is a great island for spotting monitor lizards, if you're into that sort of thing. Interesting how water monitors (these suckers here) have protected status in Nepal, Hong Kong, and Thailand, but not in Malaysia where they are regarded as, well, standard egg-stealing garden pests.

Henry stalking a dragon.

Emerging from 'sea-walking' - an underrated form of diving where one walks along the sea floor, holding on to a cable, with a giant sort of fishbowl on one's head. I tried it, but only made it two feet below the water with that terrifying heavy, medieval headpiece before I had a sinking feeling - ha! - that I could well drown from the weight and that I much prefer being unencumbered while underwater.

I did enjoy parasailing - it was incredibly liberating to soar above the sea like a gull and to be dipped into the waves, although I got a lot of sea water in my mouth. You could say I was...*pause*...a-salted. *cricket sounds*

Henry and I even squeezed in a quick shoot for our online boutique. US Military digital camo shirt available on Regimental Vintage, here.

A touch of Berlin in Borneo. Columns from a condemned building, standing like sentinels in downtown KK, turned into canvases for street artists and spray-can maestros. Overrun with tropical vines, the slippery tendrils were not so much a rope but a challenge for the urban jungle-man...

Henry flexing his photography chops in anticipation for the Bornean wildlife we're going to visit in Sandakan.

No more photos of me in this blog post - but for satisfyingly far away shots - because I've come to the sudden shameful realisation that I've let myself go in a really bad way. Appease yourself with this panorama of Sabah and her islands, seen from the club lounge of Le Meridien...

...isn't the sunset quite something? For all its over-industrialisation, Sabah still deserves the title of 'The Land Beneath The Wind'.

Have a beautiful Chinese New Year, with love from Borneo. x

Photo credits: 3 and 7.

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre Borneo Posh, Broke, & Bored

My first encounter with the elusive orangutan in its natural habitat was over a decade ago in the rainforests of Sepilok.

I have distinct memories of a ginger giant swinging deftly from the vines then landing nimbly on the same wooden pathway I walked on, and the way it gracefully strolled past me (in all my gaping, wide-eyed childlike wonder) like it was the most natural thing in the world. To me, a Malaysian, the orangutan - 'orang hutan' - man of the forest - is a national icon and as Malaysian as nasi lemak. However, to many outside of Malaysia, the orangutan is an exotic, mysterious creature which unfortunately has come to represent critical endangerment. A Bornean native, like my grandparents, the orangutan can now only be found in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra where they face ever-increasing threats by ways of habitat destruction, poaching, and the illegal pet trade - atrocities by humans, the latter two especially shocking considering that these expressive, highly intelligent creatures are so closely related to us humans (we share about 94% of our DNA) and resemble us so strongly.

This is where the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, in the East Malaysian Sabah District of North Borneo, steps in. Over 50 years ago, an English lady set up the first centre in the world dedicated to the rehabilitation of orphaned orangutans, in 43² km of virgin lowland equatorial rainforest on the edge of the Kabili forest reserve. Orphaned orangutans who've lost their mother to poachers, deforestation, and logging, are found - sometimes terrified and doomed to certain death in the rainforest, sometimes shivering in cages where they are kept as exotic pets - and taken to SORC where they are nursed back to health and to begin a rehabilitation process as long as 7 years to learn the necessary skills to survive in the wild. Baby orangutans live in the nursery where there are cared for, receiving the emotional support they need and learning skills the from the older orphans like climbing and foraging skills. Eventually, the babies are weaned off emotional attachment to their carers - necessary if they are to return to the wild - and released into the surrounding forest reserve to fend for themselves.

Curious visitors - Henry and I included, it was his first time in Borneo! - visit Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre to see these sweet creatures being fed (twice daily; 10am and 3pm). Some wild orangutans show up for a free meal - a purposely monotonous offering of bananas, fruit and milk to bore them so as to encourage them to look for their own food - and there can be as many as 5 at a time, but of course the less orangutans appear for these meals the better, as it means that they have become truly wild and can look after themselves. It's important to remember that SORC is not a zoo, and that to see an orangutan is a privilege not a right, and again, the fewer orangutans you see at feeding time the better it means for the survival of the species.

We walked along the wooden pathway into the rainforest toward the observation deck from which we would see the orangutans.

Spotted: the Bornean sun bear, the smallest in the world. Sepilok is also home to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre.

As the SORC is now a well-known destination for locals and tourists alike, the observation deck is often crowded with visitors. Unfortunately this means that there will be people on the deck who fail to respect basic rules - keep silent, as noise will discourage the orangutans from showing up for their food - and observe propriety. There were people pushing strollers with screaming babies (no doubt crying from the discomfort of the heat and humidity) and out-of-control children shrieking and whirling like devishes. Babies will cry, children will be children, but what struck me as especially awful were the adults - why would you bring your babies here and risk exposing them to mosquitoes and catching something? And, if you're going to bring your children for God's sake control them, or don't breed! Some of the adults themselves had less manners than monkeys - indeed, the orangutans are far more graceful than some of the visitors - and can't control themselves, stampeding like elephants after every single movement in the trees with GoPros on sticks and shouting to get the orangutans attention. Seriously? They're the real apes.

(Faces blurred because I respect the privacy of people who will be inevitably photographed when I take photos of public scenes, not because they were being offensive in any way)

Henry and I took our positions - as quietly as possible, I must add, I was hesitant to even cough! - and had an unobstructed view of the platform from which the orangutans would receive their twice-daily meals.

Henry had a telephoto lens while I only have prime lenses - the 85mm 1.8 (for portraits) and my wide-angle 24mm 2.8 (for landscapes).

A keeper arrives with a basket of fruit and tips the lot out on the deck. On the first occasion (at 10am) he was followed closely behind by the smallest, most adorable young orangutan who clambered up the stairs after him and tucked in to the feast all by himself. On our second visit, at 3pm, the observation deck was far quieter (thankfully) and we all held our breath, the silence occasionally punctuated with a hornbill call and the faintest pitter patter of a giant black squirrel scurrying from tree to tree...

...then we heard a sound of branches crashing into each other and leaves rustling.

A flash of orange as an orangutan glided from tree to tree, in that graceful mid-air ballet that they are so skilled at.

He/she was soon joined by another.

...mere minutes later, a third orangutan arrived at the banana buffet.

Having observed these three happy fellows sitting down to lunch, Henry and I left them to it and adjourned to the orangutan nursey. From behind the safety of a glass wall - a feature for the orangutans safety as much as ours, as baby orangutans are susceptible to catching human diseases - we saw the orphans gambol about; wrestling, play fighting, teasing - as innocently and as carefree as all baby animals should.

Photo by Henry. Instagram: @regi_mental

I felt incredibly privileged to witness this mother nursing her baby! A rare sight, this orangutan herself was rescued by SORC and became a mother, bringing her little one here - a monkey daycare of sorts.

It was all very lovely to see these beautiful primates so well cared for and looked after. Yet, although I was in their natural habitat, it was still after all on 'human terms' - the orphaned orangutans in the nursery weren't there out of choice, and while the ones who showed up for a free meal came of their own volition; I desperately wanted to spot one roaming wild.

Then we left, walking through the rainforest, and looked up to see this critter just hangin', like the king of the swingers, oh, the jungle VIP.

Photo by Henry. Instagram: @regi_mental

Excited at his first 'truly wild' and unexpected encounter with an orangutan, Henry fired away!

Photo by Henry. Instagram: @regi_mental

...and came away with this incredible shot of the aloof orangutan peering over his shoulder at us before he dashed away into the thick of the rainforest. Henry felt incredibly rewarded for his efforts and patience as a wildlife photographer - having endured heat and humidity (also frustratingly boorish visitors who scared off the orangutans with their noise) - to get this shot of a rare and noble creature who had no intention of putting on a display for anyone, yet was captured on camera in a rare, fleeting moment.

Ending my blog post with this hilarious photo...

...a young orangutans escaped from the nursery and ran over to the cafeteria where she tried to steal bottles of water and snacks from the visitors. The staff: "Come along now, sweetie" while the orangutan pouted like a child: "NO! I want to play with the bald, ugly, two-legged monkeys! (humans)" It was so endearing to see her being led away gently like a petulant kid being taken home by their parents haha.

It is amazing that after all the trauma the orphans suffered as babies that they can bring themselves to trust humans again - to let people care for them, teach them, tell them off when they've been naughty, and take them away when they've caused trouble. More than just a place to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned orangutans, the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre educates the public about the orangutan and creates a sanctuary to minimize the impact of deforestation on their natural habitat as well as rescue them from becoming victims of the illegal pet trade. The SORC works tirelessly towards this noble and very expensive cause, often on limited funds. There are a few ways to help; volunteering to work at Sepilok (although I am told the waiting list is very long, up to 3 years), donating via the Orangutan Appeal UK (who are authorised to work on behalf of the SORC), and adopting a baby orangutan.

If you are a lover of wildlife, conservation, or just curious about these endangered creatures and happen to be passing through the area, I highly recommend a visit to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. Henry and I flew from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, but there are direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan (we flew with Air Asia). From Sandakan airport, most taxis will take you to Sepilok for RM30 (about £6). Entrance fees are RM30 for non-Malaysians and RM5 for Malaysians. If you're using a camera (DSLR, compact, smartphone, camcorder etc) you need to buy a camera pass at the ticketing counter for RM10 per camera. Feeding times are at 10am and 3pm daily - for more information you can check out the Sabah Tourism website. My last tips to you are; go for the afternoon feeding (it is less crowded, less noisy, and you have a better chance at seeing more orangutans), cover up to spare yourself from the mosquitoes; and dress in loose, light clothes to handle the humidity of the Bornean rainforests. x

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre | Sepilok Forest Reserve, 90000 Sandakan, Sabah.

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Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary Borneo

After our visit to Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Henry and I had some time before our flight back to Kuala Lumpur so we dropped in at Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary for more monkey business.

Like the orangutan, the proboscis monkey is native to Borneo - they coexist with the Bornean orangutan - and also endangered. However, the similarity ends there. The orangutans we saw at Sepilok had a touch of graceful melancholy about them (expressive, droopy 'hound dog' faces) and very sad stories (the orangutans were displaced victims of human thoughtlessness and cruelty) so while our experience at Sepilok gave us hope for the future of the orangutan, we couldn't help but leave feeling somewhat sombre and emotionally invested in those beautiful, helpless creatures. The proboscis monkeys we met, on the other hand, had no interest for our sympathy. Raucous pranksters with no fear of humans whatsoever; these monkeys were bold creatures - observing us with challenging stares like we were the curiousities; lounging on human furniture like they owned the place (and they did!) with their limbs shamelessly splayed all over the place (the males especially mocked us with their 'lipstick genitals' on show), delighting in scaring visitors by thundering towards and over them, and happily posing for cameras. To sum it up: the proboscis monkeys were massive attention whores who easily coexisted with humans who wanted nor needed none of our pity. The monkeys made it very clear that they were doing just fine and that this was their turf, they're to stay, and we had to just get over it. I love their defiant 'F-you, I'm a rockstar' attitude!

Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary Borneo Posh, Broke, & Bored

Hi.

Labuk Bay is on the other side of Sandakan from Sepilok, in the centre of the mangrove forest along the coasts of Borneo. For a good part of forty minutes we drove for miles past banana and palm oil plantations, rumbled over graveled roads and jeep tracks, before arriving to the entrance at the edge of the mangrove forest. Like Sepilok, we had to walk though the forest on a walkway before reaching the observation deck from which we would interact with these fascinating primates.

Henry dressed like a jungle man....oh wait, he dresses like this all the time anyway. Myself, I was drowning in the Bornean heat and cooking in my own sweat wearing these very same trousers I wore toLisbon last summer. The difference was - in Lisbon I was half a dress size slimmer (so no photos of me, duh). Avert your gaze instead to this monkey, whose exceptional posturing makes him far better a 'camera-loving lifestyle blogger' than I (indeed, more photogenic than some I've seen).

'Oh, were you taking photos of me? I had no idea. I just happened to be posing like this. I always perch gracefully on banisters and gaze wistfully in the distance at all of nature's glory."

Yeah, you go girlfriend. Work it like the rent was due yesterday. Someone get this monkey on Bloglovin' already.

'You remind me of my girlfriend - she too loves draping herself casually on furniture when there's a camera nearby!'

Pose like it's PFW '15 - Primate Fashion Week. Make sure you hashtag #monkeybusiness #apeshit #bananas.

'Enough photos already!' This male was enraged - poised aggressively and threatening to pounce - because, I think, someone got too close to one of the babies in his harem. And rightfully so.

And what a harem! Proboscis monkeys have a relatively relaxed attitude towards social structure and territory, with their groups overlapping each other. Each male has his own harem of females and their babies, and several of these harems come together to form a troop. Young females do transfer from one harem to another, much like certain young female humans. Then there are the all-male groups of juveniles, adolescents, and adults...all biding for the right time to hustle out the dominant males and replace them. Gosh, it's just like 'the London scene'.

How Gossip Girl is this seating hierarchy?

'You're on the guestlist? Sure you are. Join that line over there, please.'

'Yeah, that's it; just sit there, cry, and eat your feelings. And you wonder why you're single?'

This adorable young 'un was observing the people observing the monkeys.

It's incredible how the proboscis monkeys hold your gaze and examine you, as if they were searching your soul. Henry remarked that he forgot that the proboscis monkeys were animals, but thought of them as primitive humans who are every bit as inquisitive and intelligent as people, just that they didn't speak our language and vice versa.

Henry was also keen to observe cats, because as you know, he absolutely adores cats.

I like observing paintings, like these hilarious ones of primates as football teams...

...they certainly added to the colourful, mischievous tone of the sanctuary!

I definitely recommend visiting the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary after a trip to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. If not to uplift your mood with these hilarious monkeys then to at least see for yourself the way monkeys should be - wild, audacious, and coexisting with people. x

Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary | Labuk Bay, 90000 Sandakan, Sabah.

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Monkey Business in Borneo: Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

Monkey Business in Borneo: Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary