About Flow

"A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." Lao Tzu

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Landed 🚁🌇 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Landed and stranded in Kuala Lumpur. Marvin is still not allowed and able to walk around. So we are spending most of the time in the apartment making the best out of our time and leaving the house mainly for groceries, food and drinks. This time we checked out the Heli Lounge Bar. A helipad operating during the day turns into a rooftop bar for sunset. All you need to do to get access is having a drink and you can enjoy a stunning 360-degree view of KL's skyline - on the 37th floor, openair, without barriers! –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #GettingHigh #LoveIsInTheAir (hier: Heli Lounge Bar)

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Speakeasy 🍸 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– You would never expect a bar behind that tiny pre-war stationery shop if it was not for that very friendly black-dressed guy sneaking around and asking you if you want to enter. So that place is not secret at all but it still has the charme of a forbidden place. It is divided into three different sections, marking three distinct eras in the history of Indochina and cocktails. The atmosphere is beautifully nostalgic, the staff very nice and competent, the cocktails delicious. Try the Asam Boi Margarita if you get the chance! Taste that unique aroma of preserved sour plum and enjoy this special salty-sweet-sour flavor! –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #Prohibition #Disinhibition (hier: PS150)

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Foodblogging 🍚🍲🍜 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– This is "Bak Kut Teh" = "Meat Bone Tea". We tried both versions: The one with soup and the dry one. Accompanied by Chinese tea this rich, herbal, sweet and salty pork broth is heaven on earth! You'd better go and get it when in KL! It's incredibly delicious!!! And don't forget to ask for "you char kwai" = fried bread to dip in! It's so good! 😋 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #SoulFood #EatLocal (hier: Kuala Lumpur)

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About Flow 🌊 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– This is what happened: Two weeks ago, still in Mersing, I went to buy the bus tickets for our next destination. 🚶🚶🚶 On my way, crossing a street, I had a hit-and-run accident with a wrong-way driver on a scooter.🚶+🛵=💥🔄👎 I wasn't able to get up after the crash but luckily some people came running to help me get up and to the hospital. No broken bones, only soft tissue injuries, they said. But after two weeks of rest and still having pain we decided to move to Kuala Lumpur for a double-check. 👨‍⚕️🏥 The result is a torn ligament and I'm going to have to wear this Terminator-Snowboard-Leg for 6 weeks. 💪🤖🎿 Ok, fate, challenge accepted! It could have really been worse! And we are lucky enough to have made friends with Meena a.k.a. @llemongrass who is one of the most admirable human beings we've ever met. She's an incomparably great food blogger and ingenious chef, and knows all the best spots for foodies like us. 🥗🍱🍜🍛🍙 So...any suggestions for Kuala Lumpur these days? We'll do anything that does not include hiking. 😂 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #KeepYourSpiritUp #WhenLifeGivesYouLlemongrass (hier: Kuala Lumpur)

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Time & Passion –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– I also might open an online jewelry store. 😊 This is so much fun! I discovered my passion for beading and macrame a while ago. Now i finally find the time to follow it. Here's one of my first creations. 👶🍼🙈 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #FinallyGotTimeForThis #Beadingtime (hier: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

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Palms Palms Palms 🌴 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Just like in many cultures and religions, palms are a symbol of peace also for us. We love palms and can't get enough of them! 🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #Peace #OneLove (hier: Tioman Island)

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Caterpillar 🐛🦋 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– "What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly." Lao Tzu –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #AllIsRelative #Tao (hier: Tioman Island)

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Beppo 🌬🍃🍂 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– We call him Beppo, but he does not know. Every day he gets up early in the morning, no matter what the weather is like, and cleans the beach with full dedication, picking up every single leaf, step by step, taking his time, calm and focussed. "You must never think of the whole street at once, understand? You must only concentrate on the next step, the next breath, the next stroke of the broom, and the next, and the next. Nothing else." –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #Momo #StepByStep (hier: Tioman Island)

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It's World Turtle Day 🐢 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Only one in 1.000 marine turtles eggs will survive to adulthood. All marine turtle species are considered as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. The main causes are loss of living space, unsustainable fishing, illegal wildlife trade, littering and climate change. In the end what threatens the turtles, threatens us too. 💧Inform yourself and take action! –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #SaveOurHeritage #WeAreAllTurtles (hier: Juara Turtle Project, Tioman Island, Malaysia)

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Legend of Tioman 🐉 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The local legends reveals that a beautiful dragon princess was once flying from china to singapore to visit her prince when she settled down to rest a while in the crystal-clear waters of the South China Sea. Enraptured by the charms of the place, she decided to discontinue her journey and turned herself into an island offering shelter and comfort to passing travelers. ⚓️ –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #Legend #WhatHappenedToThePrince (hier: Tioman Island)

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Coral Island II 🏝 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Loving Life! 🙏 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #ThankfulChilling #ImOnABoat (hier: Coral Island - North of Tioman Island)

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Coral Island 🏝 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The other day we went for a boat trip around the island with some new friends we had made. Our last stop was Coral Island, next to the north-west coast of Tioman. Beautiful! 🐠 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #CrystalClear #HairFlip (hier: Coral Island - North of Tioman Island)

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Tioman Island Beachlife 🐚 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– We spent the past two weeks on Tioman Island. Internet connectivity was very limited. That's why we did not post anything. But we had a lot to do anyway...😉☀️🏝😎🌅 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #Superbusy #FizzyHair (hier: Tioman Island)

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First time Couchsurfing 🛋🏄🏽 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– This is Omar, our first couchsurfing host: a real philanthropist with the heart in the right spot, very attentive, loving hosting, caring and helping. When you stay at his place you're not a guest, you become a friend, he says. We requested to stay for only one night but felt so welcomed that it seemed like leaving home when we finally took the ferry to Tioman Island after 3 days in his house. Before leaving, to show our gratitude we decided to paint his living-room as we knew it was one big thing on his to-do-list. We were rewarded with a delicious home made meal. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #NewFriends #TheRightValues (hier: Mersing)

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Border-crossing by land 👣🚌🚧 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Singapore 🇸🇬 >>> Malaysia 🇲🇾 To get this stamp it took a bit of commitment, an extra day at the border and some extra cash. Here's what happened - our first border-crossing by land: For only 2$ we took the public bus from Singapore to Johor Bahru that carries every day thousands of commuters forth and back. 👬👭👫👭64 busstops later we arrived at a big terminal where everyone got off and started running. So did we, without knowing why. We realized we we're running for the immigration counter to officially check-out from Singapore to then get quickly back on the same bus. Funny enough. 😂😳 After another really short bus ride the whole procedure started again. This time to officially check-in for Malaysia. Stamp one, stamp two. 🕹🕹 All done. Thought we. It was only a few minutes later that we realized, Marvin had gotten a 90 day permit and Eva one for only 30 days. It had obviously been a mistake but we couldn't go back to clarify as the signs said no entry. ⛔️It was late already and so we decided to stay a night in Johor Bahru to get the stuff sorted out in the morning. This took much more time than expected as they kept sending us from one office to another - across the whole town. We ended up where we started and were escorted through many dubious side doors into another small office where a strict lady skeptically extended Eva's permit after some explanations. 😅 In the meantime our couchsurfing host at our next destination had finally answered our request so everything seemed to be in a perfect flow and we could embark on our bus to Mersing and our very first couchsurfing experience!🍀 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #CrossingBorders #WaitAWhileCrocodile (hier: Johor Bahru)

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Orchids everywhere 🌺 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Beautiful beautiful Botanical Gardens of Singapore! This UNESCO World Heritage Site, that opens from 5:00 am until 12:00 pm everyday of the year, is home to the National Orchid Garden, an astonishing collection of over 1000 species of orchids and 2000 hybrids. 🌺🌸🌼 The park itself stretches over 74 hectares and has three lakes, a jungle area, a herbal garden a stage for theater and music performances and quite a few animals who inhabit the area. We saw a huge monitor lizard 🐉 and some turtles, too! 🐢 But the main attraction were definitely the orchids! We easily spent 2 hours there and left only because the Orchid Garden was closing. This place is sure worth a visit also if you just want to hang out and take a break from the busy streets. ⛱ Entry is free. You only pay to see the orchids. And by the way: We also found this garden to be the more interesting one compared to "Gardens by the Bay". The Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome especially are less impressive. The giant trees with their Lightshow might be worth a stroll though. Still we would go to the Botanical Gardens again! 🌴🌳🌱🌿🍃 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #FlowerPower #BeautyOfNature (hier: Singapore Botanic Gardens)

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Singapoor Thing 🍹🍹 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Ok. We did do it. We wanted to be strong but could not resist the temptation of a true Singapore Sling at the world famous Raffles Hotel. 🙈 A little bit worried of getting into a tourist trap we avoided the well-known Long Bar where everybody seems to go and walked into the pretty impressive Billard Room half an hour before they closed it and just in time for the last order. ☝️ It turned out that the Billard Room was right now substituting for the Long Bar due to maintenance - tourist trap again. After we ordered our drinks it did not take half a minute until we got them (with nothing of the delicate making process being revealed to our eyes and ears.) Then the first sip exposed the touristiness behind the symbol: The drink was warm, watery and weak despite the fact we had even asked if it would be freshly mixed. 😱😱😱 Harmony-seeking as we are we just couldn't complain since it was past last order already. But then again the drinks cost as much as our hotel for a night. Luckily the waiter asked if everything was fine and so we ended up keeping him busy for a little longer. We got new drinks, that were cold at least. Conclusion: Just don't. And if you do, laugh about it. 😅 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #AboutFlow #SingapoorThing #JustDontIt (hier: Raffles Hotel Singapore)