UNSEEN TRAVEL AGENCY

Don’t let these pretty pictures fool you —  Kuta may be the most vile place on Earth. If you’ve researched Bali tourism, you may have heard that – but for me, I found that guidebooks mostly glossed over this fact. However, many travel bloggers wrote eloquently about this, none of them better than Wandering Earl. Kuta is Bali’s primary resort town and it’s particularly popular with Australians.  But don’t come here expecting culture, temples and quiet beaches. Kuta is a mess, a lost paradise, a great opportunity twisted into a burned-out shell. It’s the bumper stickers and t-shirts sold on every block that read “ UP THE BUM NO BABYS ” and “ WHAT PART OF DEEP THROAT DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND? ” It’s the fact that come nightfall, the streets are filled with vomiting holidaymakers who wouldn’t think twice about pouring beer on nearby onlookers. It’s the trash-filled beach, making swimming in Kuta akin to wading through a watery landfill. If it weren’t for the spiritual offerin...

Dear travelettes, after spending my first few days in New York frantically trying to take in as much as possible, see as much as possible and do as much as possible I could not help but do something incredibly boring yesterday – sleep. After meeting a friend for brunch and hanging out at another friend’s bar for a bit I went home and fell asleep just to wake up 10 hours later (6am), refreshed and reenergized for the coming week. But I suppose you could say I wasn’t entirely unproductive because I did take more random snaps of the city as can be seen here below. More soon, Katja

A short 1.5 hours away by flight from Singapore, Penang’s capital, Georgetown was listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 2008. Penang is a popular city in Malaysia and it’s easy to see why. People flock over for its famous street food :  char koay   teow (stir-fried rice noodles) and assam laksa , to say the most popular among the list. Penang is also known for its vibrant street art scene . From mural paintings that combine with real items, as well as wrought-iron caricature installations, it’s fun to explore Georgetown by foot! The weather in Penang can get very warm though, so arm yourself with portable fans and body wipes! Penang’s Art Scene – Wall Mural Paintings Very famous by now, Ernest Zacharevic is the young and talented, Lithuania-born artist behind the main street wall murals in Georgetown. His work was the reason why I’d made Penang a destination! Zacharevic’s work depicts everyday Malaysian life with the locals as models....