What really made our trip comfortable and such a joy was our Mysuites & Co. (M&Co.) loft apartment in the heart of trendy Chelsea. We had just endured horrible delays coming from Lima, including two missed flight connections in Florida. So when we opened the door to the modern white interiors and an almost tangible warmth (thank you central heating!), we felt instantly relaxed and at home. First thing on the agenda was a nice long shower.

And then up to have a nap upstairs. To put my skin on these smooth, clean, white sheets after roughing it (ok just a little bit) in Peru was heaven. PS how cool are the bedside lamps?

^Cute green shelves before I ruined it by chaotic placement my belongings.

Our apartment was stylishly designed by M&Co., who for the last decade or more have been specialising in creating small urban living spaces that are modern, yet cozy and appealing to the eye. Our apartment was one of a collection of 12 ‘Mysuites Boutique Suites’ – click to see more of their work here, especially if you love retro-chic style interiors.

As an established design studio, M&Co. offer beautiful, centrally-located apartments around Manhattan ready for you to move in – right after you pay, that is (haha). Read: 10 reasons to buy from M&Co. If only I had some spare cash lying around..

We of course never used the kitchen – there was too much food outside that I wanted to try. If we stayed (much) longer I imagine I’d make some meals here. I love a spacious countertop.

The spare bed downstairs was a nice little touch – perfect if you had a drunk friend who couldn’t make it home after a party, I thought! In the end it acted as my sick bed for when I fell ill on the last day. It was closer to the bathroom than the loft bedroom!

I loved the old-style dresser – I called it my make-up corner.

The excellent location of our suite meant that Chelsea Market was a super short walk away – and there we consumed our first meal in NYC. A hot bowl of Korean ramen soup! Plus Cambodian pulled pork sandwiches for starters. So many things to choose from!

We spent our first day exploring our neighbourhood on foot. Here are the some great attractions we discovered:

THE MEATBALL SHOP

The name says it all – meatballs! They have a few branches across NYC and yes, it’s good. We visited the one on Greenwich Avenue // www.themeatballshop.com.

THE DONUT PUB

I got this recommendation from the little directory/info sheet left by M&Co ‘at home’, and it was a good one! ‘Since 1964’ – this is meant to be very old in NYC mind you // www.donutpub.com

^Pic of pretty little flower shop on Greenwich Ave.

THE HIGHLINE

The Highline in winter sure is different from during the summer! This time it was all barren and full of leftover snow from the blizzard recently. But still, Ricardo enjoyed it a lot.

I liked it because it allowed me to take pictures of the city at an elevated vantage point:

Ricardo enjoyed the piles of old snow. I was just looking to photograph more buildings.

Our stay in NYC wouldn’t have been the same without our cozy little apartment in such a cool part of town.  I loved it so much that on Saturday night after coming back in the evening, I had half a mind to spend the night in. That didn’t happen, of course, as my friend Anna had arranged not one but TWO costume parties for us to attend…

But since I fell ill on the last day, I got to spend a little too much time in the apartment after all, haha! Fortunately it was super comfortable and warm. Phew. Thank you M&Co!

If you’re confused about where to stay in NYC, check out this handy NYC area guide!

If you’re in Brooklyn, here are 100 Awesome Things To Do in Brooklyn!

The post A Mini Guide to Chelsea, NYC appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

Because it is freakin’ hot and it’s a fully exposed walk from the carpark all the way to the viewpoint, with only one small shaded area (a little hut) towards the end.

Joyce and I borrowed the umbrella from our Airbnb host in Page. We did contemplate the idea for a good few minutes and it went something like:

“Hmm do we REALLY need it?”

“It’ll help so much not to be in the direct sunlight.. it’s 43 degrees out there”

“But then it’s mostly just a flat walk how hard can it be”

“But think of how much TORTUROUS it could be! Remember Angel’s Landing??”

“We might look stupid.. who hikes with an umbrella”

“Ok who cares if we look stupid”

In the end we thought it was better just to have it – after all the only thing we had to do was chuck it into our car.

When we arrived at the Horseshoe Bend parking lot, opened the doors and felt the weight of the hot air on our faces, we immediately knew that bringing the umbrella was A GOOD IDEA.

We took turns holding it. Turned out to be quite the arm workout in those temperatures.

Along the way we of course passed loads of other people, fully exposed to the sun and mostly sweating and dying.. looking at us with envy. Oh how they wished they had an umbrella! I can’t say that we didn’t feel just a BIT smug.

Looking back I don’t know how we would’ve survived without our umbrella. It totally saved us from a lot of suffering and allowed us to spend a bit more time dangling our legs over the edge and taking photos. The rocks were super rough, though, and made holes in the skin of our thighs/bums.

We later bumped into a park ranger, who eagerly came over to talk to us and stayed more than a couple of minutes, enjoying our umbrella shade. Haha!

There was a boat going by at one point, and we caught sight of tiny people looking like crawling insects down there.

We LOVED Horseshoe Bend. It was a spectacular view. It somehow reminded me of the Great Valley in one of my favourite childhood animated movies, ‘The Land Before Time‘. Definitely one of the highlights of our Arizona/Utah road trip.

So if you happen to go during the summer season – BRING AN UMBRELLA! You won’t regret it 😉

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Joyce and I had the opportunity to do a road trip through Utah and Arizona in June after attending Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas – and all we had to pay for was car hire (a convertible of course). We do lead such charmed lives; it all still seems surreal!

One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to Antelope Canyon during our stay in Page (I LOVED Page by the way), which I’d never really even heard about until I did some research on what to see in Arizona (although I knew I had seen pictures of it before). So of course I wasn’t aware that you had to choose between UPPER Antelope Canyon and LOWER Antelope Canyon, and argh it was so hard to decide..

I learnt that Upper was where the most dramatic photos are captured – these were the ones you would’ve seen on the web when searching for ‘Antelope Canyon’.. or in National Geographic magazines. But the downside was that because it’s so popular it’s always full of people. It’s also rather more expensive. Lower Antelope Canyon was less popular and slightly less accessible than Upper (only because you’d have to climb down some steep ladders to get down into the canyon at the beginning).

After some careful consideration, we decided on Lower because we had some grand plans for what kind of photos we wanted to take down there (you’ll see..) and we much preferred to have a bit more space instead of get stuck in a crowd. Plus the money we’ll save could go to more food 🙂

As of June 2015, when we visited, there seemed to be only two obviously visible operators running tours to Lower Antelope Canyon. We chose Ken’s Tours. There was no need to book even though it was peak season (another reason we preferred Lower to Upper).

It cost $28 per person including the mandatory Navajo Park Permit of $8. By the way, you’re not allowed to enter on your own, so you’d have to sign up for one of these guided tours.

We went for a 10.50am tour. If you’ve looked online, you’ll know that there’s a huge discussion/debate about what is the best time to go for the ‘best light’. We weren’t super fussed but I learnt that between 10am and 2pm is meant to be ‘ideal’, although the tour guides will tell you that it’s beautiful no matter what time of day it is (not untrue!).

We had about 20 or so people in our group, which to me was not small, so imagine what being at Upper Antelope Canyon would’ve been like! Anyway, once we descended into the ground, our eyes enjoyed a big feast. It was stunning..

Top: Mileti Swimwear | Sandals: Saltwater

Our guide, Buddy, explained how the canyons were formed and pointed out some interesting angles and perspectives for photography.

We tried to wear our animal masks (courtesy of Joyce) as often as we could.. possibly annoying some of the group but I’m pretty sure amusing most of them! We even flapped around and made chicken sounds. We thought.. everyone’s gonna have the SAME PICTURE, so why  not make ours a bit different?

I love our photos and I love the idea of us prancing around in rubber animal masks and floral headbands in a beautiful, well-known tourist attraction (not a novel situation though – examples here and here).

The tour lasted less than 1.5 hours from start to finish, which means we were in the canyon for about 45 minutes, I think. I do wish we could’ve stayed longer for more pictures, but there were always other tour groups coming up behind us and so our stops were time-limited. I did always feel hurried despite Buddy being super accommodating and patient with us (he really was great).

Overall, I LOVED Antelope Canyon and if you’re ever driving through Arizona and stopping by Page, definitely spare a couple of hours to visit.

More info about the tour here.

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I got to visit Los Angeles for the first time in April!

I spent my first couple of days at an Airbnb apartment in West Hollywood. After a night in catching up on sleep to avoid jet lag, I woke up uncharacteristically early on a Sunday morning for my guided Griffith Park hike courtesy of  top eco-tourism company Bikes & Hikes LA. I was really excited about getting some fresh air and getting some sort of exercise in after pigging out and being generally inactive in Malaysia the week before.

I decided to walk 30 minutes through Los Feliz to our meeting point near the park entrance and it was just the most BEAUTIFUL WALK.

// LOS FELIZ //

The houses! It felt so surreal. I was seeing everything that I had grown up seeing on TV/in movies.

In fact I have SO MANY photos of houses that I’d seen along the way but I shan’t bore you with all of them.. Just some.. haha

My walk ended up taking much more than 30 minutes because I kept stopping to take in all that I was seeing. I wanted to move there right away.

I LOVED these trees.. I was sweating from the heat by the time I got here so they provided some shade to cool off for a bit. I wished I lived on that street.

Also spotted the Griffith Observatory on the way up, thinking, ‘god damn I’ll have to walk up to THERE’.

Eventually I made it to the meeting point and met Erick, our guide. There were only three other people in the group that day – a couple from Australia and an English girl!

// GRIFFITH PARK HIKE //

Griffith Park was dry.. ish. I mean it was quite brown rather than green. Does that sound stupid? Probably. No but I really liked it 🙂

Erick made sure everyone had water and a chance to use the toilet, and then we were off uphill. It was so hot!

We came across this bunch of cheaters on horses. HORSES! I was really sweaty (and jealous).

It was a bit hazy that day so the view wasn’t typically the best, but it still looked great to me.

Erick was super animated and talkative (read: engaging). I managed to actually listen to everything he was saying (this is normally a real challenge for me).

The majority of what he was sharing was about the history of Griffith Park and the SUPER INTERESTING story of Mr Griffith, its founder. He had come from Wales in the 19th century as a teenager. He also shot his wife in the eye. I’m not going to reiterate the whole story but you can find a summary here.

We didn’t get as close to the Hollywood sign as I.. envisioned. Haha.

During the tour I also learnt the history of the sign.. Well I don’t know if this is popular information or not but I never knew that it had at some point been left to die and vandalised, later to be saved (rebuilt and restored) by Hugh Hefner!

People in LA are always exercising or dieting, right?? This was at the top of the park. I recorded some Snapchats of people exercising in funny positions, such as something I like to call ‘the prawn’. I think it’s actually called ‘crunches’.

We also got to go inside the Griffith Observatory for a bit.

It’s beautiful! I got to hold a piece of meteorite (very heavy) and use a bunch of those weighing scales where you can see how much you’d weigh on each of the planets in the solar system. Unfortunately I wasn’t paying a lot of attention so I can’t remember where I’d be lighter or heavier.

The tour/hike ended outside the observatory and we were free to get a cab home from there or walk back down with Erick to the original meeting point.

OH! We saw the tunnel where that chase scene from Back to the Future was filmed, too. Honestly it looked really unglam in real life.. and a lot shorter.

And this is Erick!

If you’re looking for a healthier, more active way to explore and learn about LA, definitely check out Bikes & Hikes. They also offer lots of cycling tours, bike rentals, and even self-guided tours.

And hey – follow me on Snapchat (SMLCRZY) 🙂

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It was my first time visiting Canada. Took this pic as the the plane was getting ready for landing. How GREEN, right? It’s like.. a garden of little broccoli tops.
^This was taken a bit earlier. I love it because it captures pretty much the full gradient of the sky from top to bottom.

I was so excited to be crossing the Atlantic again. I’d only been once before – in 2007 when I spent three weeks in wonderful San Francisco. Really I was just so RELIEVED that I was actually ON that flight at all, having received my visa only 12 hours prior… so much drama.

A big THANK YOU to WeHostels again for the opportunity. And also thank you my lucky stars that this all ended up happening..

You see, the reason I even knew about the comp was because of a bouncy, happy, pink-loving, jetsetting girl called LOLA. We’d been internet-friends (is that a term) since earlier in the year – drawn together by our similar personalities: positive, optimistic, and FUN-LOVING. She encouraged me to enter the comp so we might have a chance to meet in Toronto.

“I’m gonna enter it, win it, and see you there!”

And I did! I couldn’t wait to meet her!

  

One of the first things I did upon arriving in Toronto was get a cheap eat from a hot dog stand.. I love that shit. ‘Street meat’, they call it.. hmm. Totally unglam. But for $1.50, fine. Haha! (Thank you Karla)

As soon as Lola heard I was coming, she arranged a place for me to stay: a room in an awesome four-storey townhouse on Bleecker Street (somewhere north-east of downtown Toronto). With a bunch of other travel bloggers. We nicknamed it the ‘Real World TBEX’ house, complete with our own hashtag (#RWTBEX). Social media geeks….. …

  
^Left: Outside of the house / Right: Bleecker Street

^Bay window in the top floor room, where I slept. It was a massive room that took up the whole floor. It had two queen beds and its own toilet.

The house was organised and provided by Flipkey, a holiday rental service not unlike Airbnb (the one I use most). I’ve been discovering more and more of such websites lately.. I should make a list soon as it’s such a fantastic alternative to hotels! And then there are higher-end options as well, such as renting luxury villas, amongst others.. these I’ll save for when I make more money 🙂

^Crossroads and tram tracks at the south end of Bleecker Street.

I sent Lola a link to the Build A Dream ‘Snack Shack’ a couple of weeks before the trip. Of course, that crazy mofo (I mean that in the most lovable, endearing sense) only went and BOUGHT IT. I think it was the knowledge of this fact that fuelled my determination in getting that visa and making sure I got my ass over there..

I mean.. A CARDBOARD PLAYHOUSE WHAT MORE COULD I WANT REALLY?? 
This woman KNEW ME before she even MET ME!

It wasn’t long before it was set up.. do you see all the bottles on the countertop? That’s how sturdy that thing was. Build A Dream Playhouses – not just for kids for sure! We turned ours into a bar, pretty much. And named it The Confessional (it wasn’t me – I just provided the toys and props, obviously).

Above pic is of Chris of Captain and Clark, and me in clearly the best hat ever.

The following pics are an accumulation of about three occasions of mucking around the house/’snack shack’:

  
^Left: Chris and Gerard / Right: Craig, Tawny, & Erin

  
^Sharpies! Needless to say, I did the majority of the doodling..

^Love my little drawing of Chris? Hahaha

  
^Right: Ted on the guitar. I decided to give him a kind of mohawk..

Ted was so drunk when he brought his guitar out and attempted to serenade us. I don’t even know WHAT he played.. or if it was even anything that was really music at all. Poor him, he kept saying that he didn’t normally sound like that. The next morning when he was sober, he sported the guitar again to show us that he REALLY COULD play and sing. Awh, it’s not like we didn’t believe you the first time! Haha 😉

^With Lola! She came bursting through the front door fashionably late. As you can see, I’d already changed into my sleeping t-shirt..

^I brought face paint, too!

  
^Lola of course brought moustaches.. or should I say ‘mustaches’.. / Erin appreciating the floor.

^Lola, Erin, & Ted. Ted can play guitar, don’t forget!

Now THAT is a moustache.. I have a particular friend in London *ahem* who keeps pointing out the tiny little baby hairs on my upper lip and making me conscious about it. So conscious that I actually looked up and considered laser hair removal (see, I even found a clinic near me!) for a while.

These stick-on moustaches were rather reassuring.

  
^Craig.. (whose hat was that?!), and Erin pouting probably cos she was craving poutine. Pouting for Poutine! 

^Moustaches are not limited to silly humans!

Lola brought a bunch of merit badges for us to assign to each other. We had a ballot box and everything! I can’t remember which one I got.. but I know I swapped it for one that depicted a shoe with a piece of gum stuck to it. It just looked funny and I felt it represented me rather well.. haha.

  

As you can see, The Confessional never stopped evolving! More and more dumb doodles started to adorn its exterior… (by yours truly..), and it even boasted a bed sheet roof. It was a bar. It was a glowstick-shop. It also smelt of Chris after a while cos he just WOULD NOT GET OUT OF IT.

^Tawny, Me, & Kieu

^With the most beautiful (not just on the outside!) Alex, who bunked with me on the top floor.

 
^Left: CALAN and one of my new toys! / Ted: Supposedly, he’s playing guitar.. you just can’t see it, ok?

Here’s a video I put together – it’s basically just all the Vines I took at the house..

From the video, you’ll notice a couple of things:

1. Flat Deej
I was confused about what ‘Flat Deej’ was at first. Let me explain to you my non-American readers.. First of all, Deej is actually a blogger. He was meant to come to TBEX but for some reason couldn’t, and was really bummed about it. So Lola created Flat Deej to make him feel like he was there. It’s based on the award-winning Flat Stanley Project, in which school children are encouraged to write letters to their friends documenting the whereabouts/activities of a cut-out paper character called Stanley (from a storybook called Flat Stanley).

2. Banana
Actually I just wanted to explain Flat Deej and nothing else.

^Our one group photo! Thanks Alex for this 🙂

I admit I hardly attended any sessions at the conference due to late nights etc – because this bunch were so much FUN to hang out with. It was the first time meeting each other for most of us. In fact I hadn’t even heard of half these people before I got there. But it was the best thing ever..

There’s something so amazing about meeting people who also LOVE to travel! I’d never met so many people who were entirely immersed and so passionate about exploring the world before. It was like MAGIC! Kinda like a special, natural connection. Everyone was so POSITIVE, receptive, EXPRESSIVE, encouraging, and socially adventurous. It was super awesome that I didn’t need to explain (unlike when I meet erm, ‘normal’ people.. for lack of a better word, please, it’s 2am..) my desire to travel and and make it my life’s priority – cos everyone shared that same desire. AUTOMATIC FRIENDS.

SO, at the house, there was:

Craig of StayAdventurous
Craig loves being on the road and his favourite country appears to be Mexico! He’s full of shit and will encourage you to step out of your comfort zone. See the world! STAY ADVENTUROUS! And maybe you’ll end up in his imaginary (but one day hopefully real) Hall of Fame..

Erin of The World Wanderer
Erin is a sweetie who has an immense love for the Vine app, and poutine. She’s a teacher and travels as much as she can during the school holidays. Really she’s just so lovely that I can’t even call her a ***** for having so many days off in a year.

Chris & Tawny of Captain and Clark
Erm, only the most awesome couple ever! ‘Met on Kilimanjaro; Engaged at the Taj Mahal’. They’re both hilarious and witty and make fab videos. Why can’t I speak as naturally and smoothly as them on camera? Ugh anyway. Adventurous, energetic, and fun.. if we lived in the same country they’d be my best friends for sure!

Alex of CrazySexyFunTraveler
I truly admire Alex for her dedication and commitment to her cause. She’s been travelling full time for a few years now and she looks like she should be on a magazine cover! She’s so down-to-earth, helpful, and I love her honesty. She’s outgoing and adventurous.. and of course, a little crazy. My kinda friend!

Gerard & Kieu of GQTrippin 
Why are some couples just so cute? WHY? Recently (or not so recently) back from a year-long round-the-world trip, G & Q are now settling back to life in California.. or trying to I suppose. Haha. They are both SO NICE I wish I could shrink and squash them into a little ball, which I then toss to the ground, releasing them into full-sized human existence….. yes like Pokemon..

Ted of Traveling Ted
Ted’s passion is everything outdoors and adventure travel. He’s a camping expert (who packed some sort of miniature/foldable SHOVEL in his backpack.. haha) and of course, he plays the guitar. I would LOVE to go on a trip with him and do some crazy stuff! TED let’s go sea kayaking! Caving! Skiing! Snowboarding! Canyoning! Everything!

Carolyn of The Lazy Travelers
There’s only ONE pic of this girl in this post.. and it’s of the back of her head. Other times she was probably passed out somewhere whilst the rest of us smiled for the camera! She’s one-half of The Lazy Travelers.. ‘The Wino’
Then of course there’s Lola.. I love her. That is all.

THANKS FLIPKEY for housing us!

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