marrakech, morocco

day 1: london – marrakech
arrived at our riad / had lunch at mechoui, recommended by our airbnb host, where we had amazing lamb tagine / got lost in the souks while exploring the whole medina / chilled at cafe guerrab with sombreros and a good view of the city / visited the jewish quarter of the city, mellah / bought some tea leaves from the berber souks (one vendor even threw in some free traditional moroccan lipstick, made from aker fassi) / attempted to visit bahia palace but be warned that the last entry into most attractions is at 4pm… / visited the towering koutoubia mosque / strolled around jamaa el fna / had dinner at oscar progrés where we had some couscous and more tagine

day 2: marrakech – agafay desert & atlas mountains
we booked a day trip to the agafay desert from morning till evening / we visited the agafay desert, high atlas, kik plateau, berber villages, imlil waterfall, argan women’s cooperative and the kik valley / my favourite parts of the day were riding on camels and having lunch at an obscure but authentic restaurant in the middle of the valley / had dinner at kabana

day 3: marrakech
woke up early to go to the jardin majorelleyves saint laurent mansion and the ysl museum / had lunch at bacha coffee as a show of solidarity… waited for 1 hour but it was quite worth it / attempted to visit ben youssef madrasa BUT WE RAN OUT OF CASH / visited bahia palace (successfully) this time / had some coffee at cafe des epices, another rooftop bar, where we watched the sunset (highly recommend this) / had our last dinner at kui-zin! pigged out on a buffet spread of moroccan dishes such as meat stews, salads and desserts

places i wanted to visit but didn’t and you should totally visit on my behalf if you’re going to morocco: saadien’s tombs, badi palace, ben youssef madrasa

important info: bring cash to exchange for moroccan dirhams at the marrakech airport, visit the attractions before 4pm because that’s their last entry time despite closing at 6pm officially and only eat from stall no.1 at jamaa el fna

denmark & sweden

day 1: copenhagen
we cycled to along the nyhavn river and passed by the det kongelige bibliotek and the børsen / reached the iconic nyhavn where we strolled past the christmas stalls along the waterfront / had breakfast at apollo bar (try their banana bread!) and explored the kunsthal charlottenborg, a charming little square tucked in a quiet corner of the area / for lunch, we had some great smørrebrød (our first of many) at nyhavns færgekro / visited the ofelia plads but it was less busy than it would’ve been during warmer seasons / explored the christmas market at kongens nytorv and spotted the mindeankeret (memorial anchor) / we paid a visit to the famous freetown christiania and found green george of thomas dambo, one of many giant statues dotted across the city / walked past the church of our saviour / almost had lunch at det lille apotek LOL but because we didn’t want to have their christmas menu we went to ARKET cafe instead / we did some window shopping at højbro plads and strøget, two famous shopping streets / stopped by the national museum of denmark / had a fun night at the amusement park in tivoli gardens

day 2: copenhagen
we cycled to the botanical gardens and strolled through the snow-capped park / visited the rosenborg castle which overlooked the king’s garden / passed by nyboder, an iconic neighbourhood with yellow houses / had lunch at torvehallerne, a food market. I tried some porridge from the famous local chain grød and fell in love / walked to kastellet where we visited the quintessential little mermaid statue / sat inside frederik’s church for a while / walked around the grounds of amalienborg / had lunch at amadeus where we had even more smørrebrød / had dinner at puk

day 3: copenhagen – odense
took an early bus to odense, the third largest city in denmark / had some bread from føtex and lagkagehuset for breakfast / went into st. canute’s cathedral / strolled around the ground of eventyrhaven / had coffee with ms ang at nelle’s coffee & wine, one of the city’s most famous coffee shops / window shopped in the city centre / had dinner at giraffen and watched the world cup finals there!

day 4: copenhagen – malmö, sweden
took a day trip to the closest swedish city, malmö / had a lovely breakfast spread at ruths / strolled through lilla torg and viewed some exhibitions at the form/design centre / continued walking to gustav adolfs torg and malmö rådhus (town hall) / went into st. peter’s church / walked to malmö castle / escaped the rain by reading some books about libraries at malmö city library / ate lunch at smak, where they have a daily menu and an amazing buffet of sides including roast potatoes, bread and salad / shopped at grandpa and ab småland to buy some souvenirs / had dinner at malmö saluhall where we tried kung pao chicken at street food by pink head, swedish meatballs at clemens kött & husman and gelato from favvo glass

day 5: copenhagen – london
on our last day, we visited the exhibitions at ny carlsberg glypotek for free (because it was a tuesday) / had lunch at the little yellow coffee bar where they had some really huge portions of smørrebrød

bali, indonesia

full itinerary is at the bottom of this post!

day 1 (ubud):
went white water rafting in ayung river, ubud with red paddle bali adventures, where lunch was provided after our 2-hour ride / went to aloha ubud to go on multiple bali swings / drove to ubud palace / explored the ubud market where we bought a few crochet tops / had an indonesian dinner at ibu rai / clubbed at la favela

day 2 (kuta – uluwatu):
ordered breakfast from mannaka bali (i loved the charcoal latte), which we ate on a beach chair in kuta beach / visited garuda wisnu kencana cultural park / had lunch at single fin, a cliffside bar popular among surfers / visited the uluwatu temple in the evening / had dinner at finn’s beach club

day 3 (mount batur – canggu):
woke up at 1am to hike up mount batur / watched the sunrise from the summit and had breakfast afterwards (a banana sandwich and eggs) / took an afternoon nap before having lunch at potato head / strolled along the beach / had a japanese buffet dinner at shishi / clubbed at motel mexicola