AT THE SPEED OF NOOR

Krabi is a hot destination among Malaysians, so when my friend J  asked if I wanted to go anywhere for my birthday (she'd pay for my airfare as a birthday gift), we eventually settled on Krabi after hearing reviews about the place . Krabi was so kind to us when we were there: amazing weather, wonderful food, and barely any hickups in our plans. What seemed like a spur-of-the-moment decision turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences in my life. The view from the Tiger Cave Temple summit

Nara is about  an hour's drive from Kyoto . Located in the Kansai region, it is home to many beautiful temples and shrines,  and, like Kyoto, cultural/historical sites. If you're curious to see the more (agri)cultural side of Japan, Nara is a wonderful choice.

Catania, Sicily’s second largest city, lies on the Ionian Sea and around Mt. Etna (“A Muntagna” as the locals call it), a massive mountain which has shaped the history and the actual existence of the city. This beauty and fertile grounds of Catnia has attracted travellers, artists, poets, and philosophers for centuries. In 2014, I was very lucky to visit this city with ISH Travel Club,  and we managed to see the main Sicily town as well as venture further out in Taormina and its vicinities. View from Castelmola, a quaint hilltop village atop Taormina

During autumn of 2011, I visited New York with my family and some family friends for about a week. Although this was a few years after 9/11, and the number of stories I hear about  Islamophobia  has decreased by then, I was pretty anxious; were there really fewer cases?, did prejudice/discrimination against Muslims still persist but merely change form?, were there just fewer reports? It didn't help that getting the tourist visa to enter USA itself was a daunting experience, so I was expecting a rollercoaster ride before, during, and after the trip.