Our Travel Pearls

WAN ZAINAL

OUR TRAVEL PEARLS

I was one of the lucky few who managed to travel in November 2021, during the height of the pandemic. It was a trip to London on family matters, so I would not actually call it my dream holiday. Since then I have travelled to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in the past few months too. But these popular regional destinations still don't quite tick my dream destination list!

If I really have to pick a destination, it would have to be Japan, which is incidentally the last country I travelled to before lockdown. From food to culture and shopping to fashion, it's the most exciting place on the planet to feed your wanderlust. I would like to fly into Tokyo and splurge on some shopping at my favourite boutiques like Beams, Tomorrowland, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe and Jun Hashimoto while eating at my favourite Japanese restaurants that range from no star to three stars. When I am all satiated with the food and fashion, I would end my trip in Kyoto by revisiting the 300-year-old Tawaraya where I had my first ryokan experience many years ago. Reputed to be the best ryokan in Japan, this architect owned property is understatedly beautiful and is filled with many gorgeous artefacts and curios that the owners have accumulated over the years.

Prior to Covid my travel plans rotated between visiting my sister in the UK one year, followed by visiting my brother in Australia the following year. Both destinations made up 1 of the 2 getaways I would make annually, with the second destination usually being a place I had never been to before. My last trip was to Japan in November 2019 where I explored Tokyo in all its glory. As much as I love my siblings and do look forward to a catch-up, I am dying to resume my solo travels around this beautiful planet. As cliché as it may sound for a person in my position, I am actually looking quite forward to roaming around Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. After all, I did join the magazine 6 months after Covid began, and the 2 years spent staring at Borneo under a magnifying glass has borne fruit.

Three years into the pandemic, the stabilisation of travel activities in several markets worldwide indicates that the world is striving to become our oyster once more. In laymen terms: if you are dying to hop on a plane to somewhere near or far, the time is now. To be honest, I did not have to tell you this. Borneans, like their counterparts around the world, have been cooped up for so long that the moment restrictions on many destinations were lifted, tickets were being sold faster than a restock of chicken nuggets. At the time of this publishing, quite a few people have already traveled to Singapore and Malaysia for overdue getaways. This got the biG Team thinking as to where oh where, do we plan to runaway to. Like you, we have been thinking about this for more than 800 days.

ROZMAN

YING

As a surfer in Brunei, the changing climate means a shorter and more inconsistent monsoon swell – If you asked me where I would like to take a holiday to, my answer will always be ‘anywhere with waves’. The idyllic Mentawai Islands, although not the closest place for a surf, has consistent and world class conditions in endless blue water, where I would be able to spend all day in the ocean and never worry that the swell will not be around tomorrow.

AQILAH YASMIN

Discovering the beauty of the world, strolling around the unfamiliar street and savouring the unique dishes are usually what excites me to travel. Furthermore, I fondly anticipate on filming the journey and making a video out of it once I reach home. It somehow became my goal to travel at least twice a year; before the pandemic struck that is. Lately, I’ve been reminiscing a lot on the good old times I had while studying in Penang back in 2016. I am longing to go back there, with my family, and trace back my journey. Loads of new exciting places have opened up since then. I’m excited to discover the mural art at Chew Jetty, experience the skywalk at the top of Komtar and definitely going back to the completed Escape Theme Park for some thrill. After all, what’s a better way to release stress other than screaming your lungs out at a theme park?

The last time I was tugging luggage in the Land of the Rising Sun was more than 10 years ago and it was a mere week-long family vacation. In a blink, I was on the flight back home, feeling unsatisfied. A week was definitely not enough. A major pandemic, a binge watch of the Midnight Diner series, and some years of maturing later, has Japan taking the throne at the top of my travel wish list. I would love to get a gap month, get a ticket to Japan, start from Hokkaido and make my way down to Kyushu before settling back into Tokyo to re-immerse myself in the sights, sounds, culture and of course, the food. I will definitely remember to set aside funds dedicated to trying out all those different vending machines this time round.