Day 1 in Malaysia

Today was an awesome day. They said that if you need something, ask the Universe and if you want it bad enough, the Universe gives it to you. One of the things that I have asked for and I asked this because it is more of a want than a need was to travel more.

You see, I cannot make it a need because I am a single Mom and I need to support my child. This means making sacrifices and one of them would be travelling for leisure. Thankfully, the Universe listened and I am able to travel due to my work. This is the case for being here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

I was sent here to cover Influence Asia, the biggest social media awards happening in Asia and truly, it is an honor. I am representing the magazine and the other 2 media invited were from Preview and Manila Bulletin. How awesome is that???? 

arrived in Malaysia

We had no problems breezing through immigration which is always a good thing. After all, no one ever wants to have issues with immigration. I have to say that the Kuala Lumpur airport is not as impressive as that of Hong Kong but it is better than NAIA. There was also a bit of delay with the immigration but nothing that could dampen our spirits. 

Reminder to all. You are apparently not allowed to take photos of any part of the immigration area. I did not know this and took a few snaps but luckily was not caught or else I would have been in hot water. Eeekkk. 

We were picked up and finally got to our hotel which was Berjaya Times Square and may I just say thank you to GushCloudPH for taking care of us. This is my room. Yes, MY ROOM. I have this whole place to myself and I feel so pampered. 

THE VIEW

We also managed to grab a late lunch and we used the 100RM voucher given to us. We were in awe because the food here is cheap but really good. We ordered 2 kinds of noodles, 12 stick chicken satay, and french fries. The chicken satay and french fries were the winners of this meal. They were just really good.

Maggie of Manila Bulletin and Yanna of Preview

After this, we were shipped to the Mandarin Hotel where the presenters were holding a presscon and we got to meet them all. 

There were so many lessons imparted by these influencers but what I got from them was that:

1. It's okay to be different. Stand out instead of blending in.
2. Listen to yourself and not what other people have to say esp when it's all negative.
3. Content is key.
4. You need to constantly put yourself out there and come up with new things.
5. It's all about being in the NOW. NOW, not later.

PH and Indonesian Media

International Media from Philippines, SG, Thailand, and Indonesia

It was a pretty surreal experience being tagged as International Media to be honest but it felt good to have the Philippines recognized. I was surrounded with beauty and lifestyle magazines and online platforms and it felt like a validation having PSST as part of this.

Afterwards, we went around the city and tried to soak in as much as we could of the city. I will do another post on our OOTD and travel photos of the night we went around but for now, let's leave you with this. 

new friends made in KL, Malaysia

PS. A total stranger offered us free ice cream outside McDonald's. Awesome way to end the night.

Read about Day 2 here.