Yinj Tan — Hitchhiker Spotlight 🔦

On Fridays, we put a hitchhiker in the *spotlight. This week it’s Yinj Tan! Scroll down to read hitchhiking stories from her journeys. This spotlight first appeared on the 2nd of October 2020 in the NOMADS – Hitchhiking Club About Yinj First hitch: I guess it was 2014, back when I was still working in Singapore. I went to a walk with a friend and a couchsurfer, we got really tired to walk to the bus stop and the couchsurfer saw some other people hitchhiking, so he also tried and a lady driving a Mercedes sports car stopped and gaveContinue reading

Hello, Dubai?! Leaving Malaysia for the UAE After 339 Days (Semi-Live Blog)

You know I’ve been ruminating on it. But after 339 days, it’s finally time to leave Malaysia. We’re traveling to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is a semi-live blog that I’ll update throughout the journey. I’ll edit in photos once I’m back on my laptop. Contents1 The Weeks Before Departure to Dubai2 The Stupidest Problem3 The Problem Increasing Its Stupidity (Anticipated, Yet Unanticipated Fuckery)4 Packing, Planning, Preparing for Dubai5 The Last of Johor Bahru5.1 The COVID-19 PCR Test5.2 Obtaining The Interstate Travel Permit at Balai Polis Sentral6 Final Prep for Dubai7 Travel Day is Here7.1 The BusContinue reading

Johor Bahru: The Best Vegetarian + Vegan Restaurants

Johor Bahru (JB) is a great place to hang out for vegetarians and – to a lesser extent – vegans. During this pandemic, we tried out many veggie places in person and by delivery. These are our recommendations. Click here to scroll down to the map of Johor Bahru with all the vegetarian-friendly restaurants. Click the + below to learn more about the meaning of the emojis, dietary restrictions and intolerances, and a disclaimer. Note that we stayed in Johor Bahru during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants aren’t ranked in a specific order. Contents1 Life Ricette 🥬🛵🚶‍♀️2 Kuai Le Zhai 🥬🚶‍♀️🛒🤑3Continue reading

Melaka Desert – Sauntering About the Shifting Sand Dunes at Sunset

I was casually scrolling the map around Melaka when something caught my eye: Melaka Desert and Klebang Deserr. A typo, cute! It wasn’t far from our home in Atlantis Residences. I googled where exactly to go. It turned out it was in a different place on some artificial peninsula. Whichever rich coastal city you travel to in Malaysia, you’ll always find a land reclamation project. This one had been canceled, which let the winds shift the sands and shape up into dunes. The pictures looked very nice. But we didn’t know what it was; satellite data from Google Maps brokeContinue reading

The Tastiest Vegetarian + Vegan Delivery Restaurants in Penang

During the lockdown in Penang, Jonas and I have become somewhat vegetarian delivery food connoisseurs in our area of George Town. Our kitchen is slightly underequipped and we tried to limit our supermarket visits during the height of the pandemic in Penang. That’s why we ordered most of our meals (twice a day) online. Over the course of 121 days in Penang, we’ve ordered from 31 different restaurants. We only included our favorites on this list. Most of our food came through Foodpanda and Grab, although we also used Folo. We were happy to support local restaurants and delivery drivers,Continue reading

Pandemic in Penang: A Play-by-Play from Two Digital Nomads in Malaysia

Before you judge our decision to stay in Malaysia and not ‘repatriate’ ourselves, scroll to the bottom to read our motivations for riding out the pandemic in Penang/George Town. If coronavirus statistics trigger your anxiety, this journal might not be for you. Also, I wrote this, so not everything here reflects Jonas’ views. My sources for Malaysia come from the trilingual news website Malaysia Kini, which has an excellent COVID-19 tracker which adds new functionality almost twice a week, and our elevator. My world stats come from the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, which unfortunately keeps butchering country names. TheContinue reading

Kayaking to Pulau Tikus: a Sacred Island near George Town, Penang

We kayaked to Pulau Tikus on the 10th of July, 2020. If you want to know where and how to rent a kayak in Penang, click here. To get tips on what to bring, click here or visit my extensive kayak gear guide if you’re very, very serious. Contents1 The Idea2 Sea Currents, Wind Directions, and Weather Forecasts3 Not the day, not the day, THE DAY!4 Kayaking to Pulau Tikus5 The Shrine of Seyad Mohamed Kuddoos Oliyullah on Pulau Tikus6 Returning to Pulau Pinang and Tropicana 2187 In Short:8 Map of How we Kayaked to Pulau Tikus9 Was This Article HelpfulContinue reading

Penang National Park and the Meromictic Lake at Pantai Keracut

Events in this story happened on Tuesday the 30th of June 2020. We hiked in Penang National Park to the meromictic lake at Turtle Beach (Pantai Keracut). This is during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) during the easing of the restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak. You can read my pandemic in Penang diary here. Preparations and Getting the Grab We took three liters of water in my hydration bladder and another 1.5 liters in a bottle in Jonas’ bag. Our lessons from previous hikes in the hills of Penang and on its beaches taught us it’s a good ideaContinue reading

Getting a SIM Card in Malaysia

This article is a comprehensive guide to getting the best prepaid SIM card in Malaysia. “RM” is short for Malaysian Ringgit—their currency. Click “In Short” in the table of contents to skip over the text and get a step-by-step guide. For starters, the Malaysian country code is +60 Contents1 Telecom in Malaysia2 Why should I Get a Malaysian SIM Card?3 Which Provider Should I Choose?3.1 Should I Get the Tourist SIM Card?4 Before You Travel to Malaysia…5 Story Time! How We Got Our Hotlink SIM Cards6 Using the Hotlink RED App and Topping Up6.1 Installation6.2 Getting Packages6.3 Checking Your Balance6.4Continue reading