» LONDON BOUND
Hey guys!
It's been such a long time since I last checked in. Life's been crazy. Between course-work and lab (read: thesis) I've been trying to go to the gym (total fail) and maintain a somewhat decent social life, so the blog has been extremely neglected.
Two weekends ago I met my sister and cousins in London and we had the perfect weekend. Good food, fav museum and surprisingly no shopping. We also got robbed (my cousins phone was stolen and the police had to come by) and almost missed our flight home, not once but twice. It was such a dramatic weekend tbh but I can't wait till I see my girls next.
For now I'm trying to figure out what to wear for graduation, which is literally in 3 weeks! Can you believe it?
Would you guys like a graduation outfit inspo post?
xox
» #LAILAINLONDONRERUN
I went back to my fav city in this whole wide world (a bit of an exaggeration going on) two weekends ago with my sister. We met at the airport in London (so cute right?) and then spent the weekend together (and with Mirriam).
It was really nice having a break from everything with an all girls weekend. We had great food (seriously guys, you need to eat at Khan's in edgware road. Best Indian food I've ever had) , went shopping and had way too much churros at winter wonderland - but it was soooo worth it.
Here's to many more great weekends together.
xox
//
Då åkte jag tillbaks till min absoluta favoritstad i hela världen för två veckor sen med min syster (överdriver lite såklart). Vi träffades på flygplatsen i London (skitgulligt visst?) och spenderade helgen tillsammans (och med Mirriam).
Det var så skönt att pausa från allt och bara åka iväg ett par dagar och ha en 'girls weekend'.
Vi åt god mat, shoppade och åt lite för mycket churros på winter wonderland - men det var sååå värt det.
Hoppas vi får fler underbara helger tillsammans.
xox
» TRAVEL DIARY: EGYPT
I absolutely love Egypt. I feel like everyone is always happy, no matter their situation, which in turn makes everyone else (me) happy. It's so colorful, vibrant and just so goddamn beautiful (apart from all the dirt of course..). But, and this is a big fat but, it is different. Somehow, everything has changed, yet it felt like I was in a time capsul going back in time to this beautiful country. Of course everything has changed. It is less vibrant, less happy.
I feel like I went to Egypt for the first time when I was trying to connect with my Arabic roots. Don't get me wrong, whenever I'm there (or any Middle Eastern country for that matter), I feel very Swedish. But yet again, something in me seeks for that other part of me, which I somehow found in those countries. Well, only a small part of it was found, the rest is yet to be seeked.
It's in the music, culture, language. It's in the burning sun and saltwater. It's in everything.
I feel like people like me (lost in this world) will find pieces of themselves everywhere they look. Because isn't this why we keep traveling?
xox
//
Jag älskar Egypten. Det känns som att alla alltid är glada, oavsett livssituation, vilket i sin tur gör alla andra (mig) glada. Det är färgglatt, livfullt och så himla vackert (bortsett från all förorening och smuts såklart..). Men, och detta är ett stort fett men, det är annorlunda. På något sätt hade allting förändrats, men på samma gång kändes det som att jag gått bakåt i tiden för att det var helt oförändrat. Självklart var det annorlunda. Det var mindre livligt, mindre glatt.
Jag känner att jag åkte till Egypten för första gången när jag försökte känna någon koppling till mina arabiska rötter. Missförstå mig inte, när jag är där (eller i mellanöstern överlag), känner jag mig väldigt svensk. Men på samma gång finns det en del av mig som letar efter just den delen som jag har missat, vilket jag på något sätt fann i dessa länder. Eller ja, bara en liten del hittades, resten måste jag leta efter.
Det är i musiken, kulturen, språket. Det är i den varma solen och saltvattnet. Det är i allt.
Jag känner att människor som mig (vilsna i världen) kommer att finna delar av sig själva var de än söker. Jag menar, är det inte anledningen till varför vi fortsätter resa?
xox
» UP AND AWAY
This is what I'm wearing to the airport.
| Jacket - Missguided | Pants - Zara |
| Bag - Aldo | Shoes - Adidas |
I'm currently in the car to go to Copenhagen (airport). I'm going to Egypt!
Let me know if I should do outfit posts while I'm there.
Have a lovely weekend!
xox
//
Just nu sitter jag i bilen till Köpenhamn (flygplats). Jag ska till Egypten!
Säg till om jag ska göra outfit inlägg när jag är där.
Ha en trevlig helg!
xox
» TRAVEL DIARIES: WHEN IN STOCKHOLM
Since one of my closest friends, that happens to live in Stokholm, is having a baby soon, a babyshower was obviously on the list.
So I went to Stockholm over the weekend two weekends ago, right before the big handin of the thesis - LOL!
It was a lovely weekend, and the babyshower was really well-organized. Look at the cute favors!
Apart from attending her babyshower, which was the main reason of my visit, we went to a few places in Stockholm, slept for 7 hours (in total over the course of 2 nights) and just talked a bunch of bs.
I also managed to finish my report (at the aiport!!), and sent it in that same day. Talk about accomplishments!
Stay tuned for a bunch of upcoming posts.
xox,
Laila
» TRAVEL DIARY: ITALY
But I've had the best summer. I went to Rome in the middle of August, and let me just say that it's an enchanting city. So beautiful.
I'll do more posts about it, with more pictures, when I'm not doing homework - ugh to that..
Until then, I hope you've all had an amazing summer.
xox,
Laila
» TRAVEL DIARY: IRAN
Falooda - lemon sorbet kinda thing drizzled in lemonade (I think). Basically, it's life changing.
I'll be the first to admit that Iran wasn't on top of my travel destination list. I mean, why would people want to travel to Iran?
The last time I was there was twelve years ago. Twelve. More than a decade ago! And the way you view the world when you're 10 changes as you grow up.
I've always loved the idea about Iran. The culture, stories, poetry, even the songs that my grandpa used to chant religiously. But I never really understood them. I never saw past the songs and culture.
This time though, I noticed people, just like me and you. And I loved Iran (I never knew I would say that).
Maybe it was because of my relatives that live there, that have embraced their Persian heritage. Or maybe it was the burning sun, combined with the multiple servings of chai. I can't say exactly what it was, but it made me happy. And I'm surprised to say that I miss it.
I feel like there's so much I want to share about this one week trip, so stay tuned for more.
In the meantime, let's pray for sun.
xox,
Laila
» TRAVEL DIARY: BANGKOK
We went to the 'Wat Pho' temple, most known as the lying down Buddha.
Then we walked to the 'Grand Palace', which is nearby, and just had to take a picture of this group of tourists.
We took a boat ride through the 'Thonburi Canals' to see the temple of dawn; 'Wat Arun'.
And we went through the floating market; where people sell things like food, souveniers etc, on boats. Really cool!
Something that wasn't as cool were the almost fallen apart houses. Where people actually lived in. You could really see the big contrast of the tourist-y Bangkok and the poor side of it.
We drove past the parliament house and saw newlyweds taking their wedding pictures. How adorable is that?
We had Indian food everyday at MBK (shopping centre).
We went to a the Chinese market - highly recommended. We had more dragon fruit and fruit juices. My skin had never looked better - all the fruit!
This was in another mall, that I can't remember the name of (you should really write everything down right away. But it was really cool).
There were children with their grandpa feeding the giraffes, but the children weren't as excited about it as their grandpa. So when they saw how excited we were about all the animals (no comments you guys), they gave us all of their bananas so we could feed the giraffes. Obviously that had to be documented. Feeding hippos was also included.
We mostly went to markets, like the chatuchak market (coolest place ever!) and just tried to enjoy the last days on the trip without documenting them.
Before visiting Bangkok, I might have had some preconceptions about the country - or the city. I thought that prostitution and pollution was all there was to this city, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Bangkok has a lot more to offer. Yes, prostitution does exist and it happens openly on the streets. But if you overcome that fact (and don't go to sketchy areas), you will fall in love with the city. People are so well-dressed (seriously you guys!) and friendly (most of them). You could just walk down one street and find yourself on a crazy cool market, sipping on pomegranate juice.
Bangkok is definitely a city I will re-visit.
I learned a lot about myself and about the world around me during this trip. Traveling with an open mind, and with great company (thanks fam!) contributes to that self growth. You learn how to make the best out of every situation you're thrown in. You learn that company, and not how you travel to each place, is more important. Say no to nothing (within reason), and you might experience something you've never dreamed of experiencing.
I hope you've enjoyed these travel diaries.
Stay safe, travel well.
xox,
Laila
» TRAVEL DIARY: HAT YAI
We took the ferry from Langkawi to Satun, Thailand (you could see the Thai borders from Langkawi, so cool). From there we took the bus to Hat Yai, where we stayed for two days.
Sadly, everyone decided to get sick here, so we didn't do much. We walked around in markets, rode tuc tucs and had delicious fruit. Although we didn't see much of Hat Yai, what we saw was friendly people and colorful buildings.
The coolest thing that happened during this adventure was when we asked an older man if he knew of any fast food places nearby, to which he replied, yes there is this one place called McDonald's. Adorable.
When we were well-rested, and had slept the sickness away (haha), we had to pack up and head on for our final adventure; Bangkok.
xox,
Laila
» TRAVEL DIARY: LANGKAWI
The flight from Singapore to Langkawi was short, and the Island (or what we could see of it from the airplane window) was gorgeous. We stayed in Langkawi for six days, and spent the entire first day relaxing at the hotel - it was well needed. The weather was nice and I spent everyday in flip flops - I don't regret it for a second. For this adventure, we rented a car, as the island is tiny and it's easier to drive around.
We drove to the 'Eagle Square', which is a place with a view of the sea - and obviously the Langkawi eagle and sign as a backdrop. Beautiful.
We went hiking at this beautiful place, that I can't remember the name of (help!), and met more monkeys. Cuties.
We got banans from that waterfall place, and realized how badly the monkeys wanted bananas. So that's what we did for the majority of our time in Langkawi; fed monkeys with bananas. Although it wasn't as glamorous as it sounds, because we were under attack several times..
'Black Sand Beach', was beautiful. Don't mind my outfit on repeat.. Or the pictures taken with my back to the camera. Apparently I thought the pictures would look more artsy if I turned my back.
This view. We drove to the highest point in Langkawi, up the mountain, and saw this. Absolutely breathtaking. Also, what isn't pictured is all the monkeys, insects and weird animal noises. So I literally stepped out of the car for 30 seconds and ran back in. No time for selfies here - sadly.
Then we drove until we found a nice beach to bathe and to take pictures. As you probably can tell by now, I'm obsessed with pictures.
Snapshots from the car.
We found another monkey species. They were more careful, and wouldn't get close to us. They also didn't want bananas.
This little monkey was running for his life after stealing a banana from another monkey. Can you guys tell that we're easy to entertain. Seriously that was the most fun thing about Langkawi; the monkeys.
We went to this museum and visited 'Makam Mahsuri', where they told stories (aka, you read her life story) about a legend called Mahsuri. She was accused for adultry, but she was innocent. So she had basically cursed the Island. I found these pretty flowers (White Frangipani flowers) on the ground, and picked them up to create the most awesome bouquet you'll ever see (nope, not even. But it's pretty).
Another beach we randomly found. Also very beautiful.
'The Seven Wells Waterfalls' - this place was dangerous.. It was very beautiful, breathtaking even, but so slippery. Also, there was a sign that said that if you fall or get bitten by any insect (poisonous, I might add), you are the only one responsible for it. We saw lizards, randomly falling (?) from small trees or whatever lizards do, and then crawling to another tree. They were huge. We saw huge flies, and other insects that I had never seen before, which was very cool. It somehow seemed that the higher up you go, the less monkeys you would see. Could this have anything to do with the scorpions (that live up top)?
We also went to a crocodile farm, in pouring rain, and watched a crocodile show. I don't really like animal shows, so I can't say much about it, but that's another story. Crocodiles look unreal, don't you guys think so?
We went on a little boat to a small Island around Langkawi. The boat ride was great. We saw dolphins (!), that I don't have pictures of because you know how it is with cameras and timing. And also because I didn't wanna risk dropping the camera in the ocean - at times it felt like I was gonna fly off the boat. The Island was great, until a monkey decided that it wanted to steal our things - it didn't succeed because I managed to scream and then scare everyone (humans too). So the monkey ran off to a nearby tree and continued watching us - such a creep. If you guys ever go to an Island with monkeys, make sure to NOT have food in your bags, and also, to attach all of your items to a tree. That way the little orange bandits won't find a way to steal anything.
The boat ride ended at a fish farm, where we fed fish with (can you guys guess?) FISH! So weird but very cool. We got to hold sharks and walk around the farm without falling so we wouldn't end up as fish food.
Sadly, I don't have pictures from everything we did on the Island, so the adventures have to end here. But what I can say is that the locals have to be some of the most kind, friendly people I've ever met. The rest of the trip was all about relaxing and driving around the Island, with spontaneous stops at cool beaches.
I would love to go to Langkawi again, someday in the future. But for now, I will live with these amazing memories.
xox,
Laila
» TRAVEL DIARY: SINGAPORE
Singapore is beautiful. It's a mixture of exotic and city life, with its tall buildings and palm trees. But it is tiny, so we only stayed for two days.
The bus ride from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore took about five hours, and it was very comfortable (the bus was kind of empty!). When we first arrived, we checked into the hotel and then took the bus to 'Bugis', and had lunch at Burger King. We got two days tourist passes for buses and trains - highly recommend doing that, as it is easier than taking taxis everywhere. It's easy to find your way around Singapore, and people are friendly. Then we took the bus to a beautiful mosque (it's called 'Sultan', if I'm not mistaken). That area was stunning.
From there we took the bus to 'Marina Bay' - possibly one of the most beautiful places I've been to during this trip. We saw the famous infinity pool hotel (what is it called?) and rested under huge fans at the bay - so refreshing considering how hot it was. Then we kept walking around in the area and sat down on the steps to watch the water show. It was really cool, you guys!
The second day was an endless walk. It started with breakfast at McDonald's in 'Bugis', and from there we walked to 'S:t Andrews Cathedral'. The walking didn't stop here. We walked to 'Little India', which wasn't as impressive as the one in KL, and then we got tired of walking and took the train to 'Orchard road'.
Since we only had that one day left in Singapore, we decided to just walk down the road (no shopping) and then walked past the old Parliament house, the Supreme Court and other places that I currently can't remember. After all that walking, we finally made it to the Merlion, which is the lion/fish statue that I was dying to see.
From there it was a short walk to the Marina, where we met excited graduates. After that we had Indian food in the shopping mall (in the Marina) and walked to the 'Gardens by the Bay'.
The garden was beautiful. There were multiple "gardens" inside of it, with cool flowers, sculptures and then obviously the trees. We took the lift up the trees and walked on the bridge (taking a bunch of pictures and selfies, haha!). After walking around the garden and enjoying the heat and humidity (sarcasm), we lied down to watch the "light show". I'll show you guys a short clip of it if I can find it - absolutely beautiful!
Then we took the train back to the hotel to pack up and get ready to fly back to Malaysia, this time to Langkawi.
I'm in love with Singapore, let's leave it at that.
I hope you're liking these posts so far!
xox,
Laila
» TRAVEL DIARY: KUALA LUMPUR
Let's start by saying that Malaysia is a beautiful country. The flight, however, was a nightmare. Or rather that the hours spent on the airplane was a nightmare.. How do people fly to Australia?
We stayed in Kuala Lumpur for five days. When we first arrived, we checked in (duh) and everyone fell asleep immediately because of the time difference. Hello jet lag!
I don't know how long I had been sleeping, but I had the weirdest dreams that day - and I never dream.. By then it must have been around 1-2 pm, and someone (thanks dad and Mona) had brought us all McDonald's. When everyone had eaten and showered, we decided to stay close to the hotel and walk around. We ended up in Pavillion, which is a shopping centre where we just walked around, and then ended up having dinner at the centre. I've never had Malaysian food before, and I had a chicken-veggie-rice dish. That's basically when I decided to go vegetarian for the rest of the trip.
On the way back to the hotel, which was in 'Bukit bintang', there were multiple fruit stands with exotic fruit, and we decided on the coconuts - hello pretty Instagram pictures. But, it was too hot and humid and the coconut water was warm.. The following morning we had kept the coconut in the fridge and it was delicious. I mean, warm coconut water isn't really my thing.
The following day we went to 'China town'. It was very cool. We had dragon fruits - sooooo good - and walked around, where we eventually met a group of Malaysian girls that study tourism. They had a school project where they had to ask a couple questions with tourists, and we ended up chatting with them for a bit.
We went to a beautiful mosque, 'Masjid Jamik' and then found a Malaysian market (?) very close to it, so we ended up walking around there. They had beautiful Indian sarees and traditional Malaysian clothes.
Since my cousins wedding was coming up, we decided to look for dresses there, with no luck. I think people started feeling sad for us, because they suggested that we go to this huge department store called 'Sogo' - didn't find anything there either, but the area was beautiful. There was this "street-stage", where a band was playing music and anyone could walk up and sing.
We also went to the 'Petronas towers', took a bunch of pictures and went to the shopping mall inside of the towers for dinner.
On the third day we went to 'Seyelang Hot Springs', 'Kanching Waterfalls', 'Batu Caves', birdpark, 'Thean Hou Temple', and 'Little India'. Saying that it was a long day is an understatement, but we didn't stay for long at each place.
The hot springs were cool. I've only ever been to one other hot spring before, so it was definitely fun to experience. The waterfalls, however, were amazing. The view was breathtaking and the waterfalls were of 7 levels. This was the first time we met monkeys (during the trip), and we were told to hold on to our items, not wear hats, keep our sunglasses close and not look them in the eye. The "smaller" monkeys were nice, but the "bigger ones" weren't.. There was another school girl with a project. This time it was about our encounters with the monkeys. Very interesting.
The third stop was the Batu Caves. It is a popular Hindu shrine, with 272 (!) steps. Talk about a massive workout. There were monkeys everywhere.. When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere.. They would attack, try to get your water, and just straight out annoy people all the way up the stairs. It took me forever to get up the stairs, but it took me longer to go down.
The bird park was fun. Birds flying everywhere, flamingos, owls (I love owls), and other very interesting species that I had never seen before (I'm no bird expert). Many bird selfies were taken that day.
Then we stopped by the chinese temple. It was very light and airy - so refreshing because of the very humid day. I got a not-so-good fortune, which basically told me I would fail in everything.
The final stop for the day was 'Little India'. It really was like how I imagine India to look like, but much smaller. Music playing on the streets, colorful clothes everywhere, henna and Indian food. We had, for the first time for 3 days, amazing Indian food, that was served on banana leaf - so cool. Then we got henna done and went to the hotel. The day didn't end there. We showered, changed and went to Pavillion again for dinner.
On the fourth day we went to the central market. We walked around and had Malaysian sweets (if anyone knows the name of these, please comment). We realized that we weren't too far from 'Merdeka Square', so we walked (all the way..) and went into this museum (?), took pictures and acted all tourist-y. Fun day. Can you guys guess where we went after? To Pavillion! That day I found a dress for my cousins wedding. Fun day indeed.
On the fifth day we went to 'Mega Mall' (as suggested by a nice taxi driver), so the rest of the family could get clothes for the wedding. There was a market inside with traditional Malaysian food, which actually turned out to be delicious - so spicy though! After a few hours well spent, and a Krispy Kreme donut later, we went to the 'Menara Tower'. By now we were exhausted, so we refused to walk up to the tower (uphill.. Sorry mom), so we decided to walk (!) to the 'Petronas towers'.. My legs have never been as toned before.
We found this beautiful area behind the towers, so if you ever visit KL, make sure to go to the park.
I think you guys can guess where this last day ended - Pavillion! (Well, outside of it, in McDonald's - so fancy)
Kuala Lumpur was great. It was enriched with different cultures and religions, and everyone seemed to be understanding of one another. People were friendly and helpful. Definitely worth a visit.
On day six we went on a bus to Singapore - more about that in another post.
xox,
Laila