My trip to Malaysia has taken me from the capital to Malacca, then up to Ipoh and the Cameron Highlands and farther north to Penang. Throughout the journey, my eyes have taken in the vibrant colors of the markets and sunsets, and my stomach has had its fill of the fresh flavors of Malay, Indian, and Chinese cuisine.

At the end, I find myself back in Kuala Lumpur for one short night before my flight to Manila, and I am exhausted. I hop on the monorail at Sentral Station and head to the Tune Hotel in Downtown Kuala Lumpur.

The room, which I have been offered complimentary for the night, is basic, following the company’s signature pay-for-what-you-need policy. But I will only be spending seven hours here, so it’s just what I need. I could do without the hairs I find in the shower and the sheets, but overall it serves its purpose as a place to rest my head between train and plane.

At 6:00am I take the express train to the airport, where I wave good-bye to Malaysia for three days. But it’s not long until I’m back at KLIA—as the airport is called by locals—and back in Malaysia Airlines’ Golden Lounge. They are flying me to London in business class, and I settle in for some pre-flight Champagne (not the best, but it will do) and a feast of good Malaysian food before I go.

Once on board, I get to experience the chef-on-call service that I saw in action when I toured the huge kitchen facility in Kuala Lumpur the week before.

After enjoying a fresh salad and the airline’s signature satay from a dedicated trolley, my main of fried noodles with black pepper chicken arrives on cue.

The chicken is great, but the noodles are hands down the best thing I’ve ever eaten on a flight. I fill my stomach, then persuade my dessert stomach to make room for more. And for dessert. I could get used to this.

But I can’t eat for 12 straight hours (well, I can…), so I spend the remainder of the flight in a dream-like state, floating between sleep, movie watching, and general relaxation as the A380 carries me home.

When the landing announcement is made, I pray for a holding pattern. Or an exceptionally busy morning at Heathrow. Anything, really, to keep the plane in the air for just a little while longer. I’m not ready to pry myself out of my seat and back to reality.

But back I go, and as if London knows that I’m just home from Malaysia, the city gives me some sunshine and warm weather to ease the transition. Now all I need is some cooking skills and I can try to recreate my travel experience at home. Or just fly back to Kuala Lumpur sometime soon. Satay, please!

My train from Ipoh pulls into Butterworth station right on time, and I cover the short distance to the ferry terminal on foot. Soon I board a barge for the 20-minute crossing to the island. The skyline of Georgetown, Penang’s main city, emerges before me, a mix of modern skyscrapers, colonial constructions, and old Chinese shophouses.

When my ferry arrives, I walk down the narrow streets, admiring the hodgepodge of architectural styles. The long-standing mix of cultures is evident as the colorful fabric shops and spicy aromas of Little India melt into the temple incense and spicy street food of Chinatown.

My destination this evening is a new-ish hotel in the heart of Georgetown called Coffee Atelier. It is set in a row of five heritage houses, all painstakingly restored to create an authentic boutique hotel. The restaurant, 55 Cafe, is where I have been invited for dinner.

When I arrive, I am greeted by Stefan, the Swiss expat owner, and his wife, Lorina, who is from Hong Kong. They show me the beautifully restored guest rooms and the hotel’s art gallery, then we sit down to dinner with their children.

A wide variety of Mediterranean plates and tapas comes to the table. They have worked with the chef on each dish to ensure the food stays true to its traditional flavors.

And they do a good job. Just ask the vacationing couple at the next table; this is their fourth visit in as many days.

The next afternoon I have the fortune of meeting some other expats in Penang, two of whom take me on a walking tour of Georgetown. Lorina is kind enough to introduce me to Rebecca and Caroline, the former of whom is an artist that has worked with the Penang Heritage Trust.

Our tour begins with the most important thing in Penang: street food. From a vendor by the Goddess of Mercy Temple we sample peanut sweets so good that they satisfy even my savory-loving palate. From there we visit Rebecca’s house, China Tiger, an indescribably beautiful gesamtkunstwerk adjacent to her shop on China Street. The house is so stunning that she now opens it once a month for visitors to see.

Nearby is the new Ren i Tang Hotel, which is just about to open. Rebecca knows the owners, and takes me inside for a sneak peek at the 17 unique rooms and traditional Chinese medicine shop.

She also takes me to see the new Seven Terraces Hotel, which has a gorgeous restaurant that serves traditional local Nyonya cuisine like that which I had in Malacca, but with a modern twist.

And speaking of modern, our next stop is China House, a long, narrow passageway of a space filled with several trendy restaurants, bars, cafes, and art galleries. It is the place to be in Georgetown, and is one of the most popular cafes and restaurants in Penang.

Down Beach Street is another new cafe, this one called Cozy in the Rocket. It is a small, light space that looks like the perfect place to have lunch or coffee.

As we walk, Rebecca explains that because Penang is so famous for its street food, most restaurants specialize in non-local cuisines. It makes sense, as nobody wants to pay up for local food in a restaurant when they can get the same dishes on the street for a fraction of the price.

Which brings us to Edelweiss, the original heritage shophouse-turned-restaurant. There we meet the owner, Teresa, a pioneer and visionary that first restored one of Penang’s historic buildings and turned it into a business. As I sip a dragon fruit and beetroot juice, she shows me a book of before-and-after photos of the restaurant, the result of which is a gorgeous space that started a citywide trend.

Away from the cafes, I walk down Armenian Street with Caroline to get my culture fix. She takes me to the Sun Yat Sen Museum, where the former Chinese leader once spent time. Parting ways with her, I walk past the famous Kapitan Keling Mosque and Sri Mahamariamman Temple, a riot of color and sculpture adorning its pyramidal tower.

At the north end of the street, I explore the Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower and Fort Cornwallis, a sturdy relic of the British colonial days. I then make my way to the famous Eastern & Oriental Hotel.

The historic hotel’s 1885 restaurant has offered me dinner, and I revel in the five-course tasting menu, which features everything from lobster bisque and pan seared scallops to baked Wagyu filet mignon.

The highlights are the pan seared scallops and the beef, both of which are tender and flavorful.

At the end of the meal, Executive Chef Petr Feher sits down to talk with me. Like mine, his career has taken him all over the world, from the Four Seasons hotels in San Diego and Prague to the Datai on Langkawi.

My last meal in Georgetown takes place at ET Restaurant, which comes recommended by a fellow London food blogger. The no-frills dining room is packed with families enjoying Steam Boat meals like the one I had in the Cameron Highlands, but my friend told me that in-the-know locals and visitors order Nyonya cuisine there.

I do as she tells me, and the somewhat surprised staff prepares a plate of Nyonya food for me. The mix of pork, tofu, and rice is cheap and good, and I’m glad to have had my fill in a city famous for it.

My Georgetown fix done, I spend the rest of my time in Penang in Batu Ferringhi, a resort area located 30 minutes down the coast. My hotel is the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang Resort, a fitting place to stay in a location that reminds me of the legendary island.

My room, which the five-star hotel has generously offered me on a complimentary basis, is in the luxurious Rasa Wing. The wing is a subset of the hotel that Suleiman, the Director of Communications, tells me is the equivalent of first class, with business class being the domain of the adjacent Garden Wing.

The Rasa Wing has its own restaurant, which guests can use exclusively for breakfast (although the breakfast buffet at the Spice Market restaurant in the Garden Wing blows me away with its size and variety), as well as a private adults-only pool and a lounge with complimentary afternoon tea and happy hour each day.

My room is huge, with areas for sleeping, living, working, and bathing, and a spacious balcony with a big bathtub. The decor is all browns and beiges, which feels a bit business-like for a resort hotel (although I am traveling on business, after all!), but it has every amenity I can imagine, from free WiFi to a cosmetics kit and hair care products.

The balcony overlooks the extensive gardens and saltwater swimming pool, beyond which is the beach. Next to the pool is the CHI spa, where Suleiman sets me up with a Rasa Asmaradana massage. Sandalwood, cinnamon, and nutmeg all play a role in the therapy in a nod to Penang’s identity as a spice island.

My therapist takes me into my own private villa, complete with a separate changing room, outdoor tub, and dedicated treatment room. As she kneads the knots in my back, I drift off to Shangri-La, both real and imagined.

It’s ironic, though, as the massage is the last thing I do before leaving the Shangri-La, and Penang, too. Back on the ferry I go, and back on the train. And back to Kuala Lumpur. To be continued…

After a two-hour drive from Ipoh, where I spent the previous night, I arrive at my hotel, the YTL Cameron Highlands Resort. It has invited me for an overnight stay to experience the highlights of the highlands.

The hotel has a long history in the area. It is famous for being a favorite haunt of American businessman Jim Thompson, who disappeared in the Cameron Highlands in 1967, leaving behind a mysterious legacy and a beautiful home in Bangkok that is now a museum.

In fact, one of my first activities at the hotel is to take a hike with the resident naturalist, Madi, who guides me along a trail he blazed in the forest near the spot where Thompson disappeared. As we climb up over roots and past pools of fallen rainwater, Madi tells me that he met Jim Thompson when he was a boy.

Since the businessman’s disappearance, rumors and stories have become myths and legends, giving rise to an arsenal of tales that paint Thompson as everything from a drug smuggling CIA agent to the head of a local gay association who had an affair with the ambassador’s wife.

At the end of the path, we reach a clearing where Thompson’s house can be seen through the mist. Whether any or all of the rumors about him are true, he left behind a legacy of intrigue in the Cameron Highlands that will not be soon forgotten.

When we return from the hike, I relax in my room, a beautiful space with a view over the neighboring golf course. Soon it’s time for lunch in the aptly named Jim Thompson Tea Room, a light colonial-style space with pretty wicker furniture and a Western menu.

I have the crab salad to start and then a breaded chicken cutlet with French fries. The former is light and fresh, the latter a bit heavy for my taste. Still, it is a pleasant experience.

After lunch I settle into the comfy reading room, a ready refuge from a sudden afternoon downpour. But I don’t have long to take advantage of the free WiFi before heading to the spa for a relaxing retreat.

The hotel booked me in for its signature Fresh Strawberry Escapade, a 2-hour spa ritual using the Cameron Highlands’ most famous fruit at its core. First I relax in a bathtub full of strawberries and tea, a pleasant aromatic experience that sets the tone for the next phase of the treatment: a strawberry wrap and a massage.

The former smothers me in strawberries, yogurt, and oatmeal, then cocoons me in a wrap while my therapist massages my head. After rinsing off, we move onto the strawberry aroma massage, a much-needed rub down after almost a week of traveling in Malaysia.

My spa treatment is followed by a ceremony that the hotel offers guests that come to celebrate special occasions. I am invited to light the main fireplace in the Highlands Bar, a lovely event that is commemorated with a photo.

Afterwards I enjoy dinner in the Gonbei restaurant with the guest liaison executive, Sherry. We have a Steam Boat meal, a traditional Malaysian feast somewhat akin to meat and vegetable fondue. The hot food is welcome in the cool climate of the Cameron Highlands.

The next morning I am up early and off to the Ipoh train station after a big breakfast of pancakes. My driver takes me back through the small towns, their roadside stands selling strawberry souvenirs. Back through the lavender farms, the lush valleys, and the greenhouses.

As we wind our way down the hills, the air warms up and so does my excitement for the next leg of my Malaysia travels: Penang. To be continued…

Everyone seemed surprised that I want to take a train from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh. One person I met admitted that she had never heard of a visitor taking a train before, and others said that it had been so long since they last traveled by train that they didn’t remember how the system worked.

When I board the carriage, I can see why. While the rest of the train is clean, someone has made an impressive mess at the foot of my seat. And as the train departs, I am approached by a cockroach that doesn’t seem as disinterested in me as I am in it. On top of that, we are delayed almost two hours.

But I would still gladly take the train in Malaysia again. Why? For one, the rainbow. And the double rainbow that follows. Then the miles of amazing scenery, from lush greenery to pretty lakes and villages. And just before the train pulls into Ipoh, the magenta sunset. You can’t beat a magenta sunset.

When I arrive at the train station, a gorgeous historic building, I take a taxi to my hotel in Ipoh, Indulgence Restaurant and Living. I have been invited to stay and dine at its famous restaurant, and after eating my way through Kuala Lumpur and Malacca, I am excited to continue my foodie tour of Malaysia in Ipoh.

I’m not disappointed. While Indulgence focuses on international cuisine as opposed to local specialties, it offers as much quality as anything else I have eaten in Malaysia, if not more.

My Tropicana Salad is packed with impossibly juicy mango and local pomelo from Ipoh. The greens are fresh, and the glass of Tuscan white has clearly been chosen by someone that knows her wines.

In fact, that someone is sitting right across from me. Jessie is one half of the duo that runs Indulgence in Ipoh, the other half being celebrated chef Julie Song. As we dine, she tells me all about the restaurant and hotel, from the start nearly 20 years ago to the current incarnation in a beautiful historic mansion near the city center.

Jessie describes Julie’s famous cuisine and insistence on sourcing ingredients from everywhere from Australia—where most of the meat comes from—, to Hong Kong and Japan. Her fierce dedication to quality means that she uses produce from all over the world in order to achieve a high level of cuisine.

And achieve it she does. My next course, a pasta dish with scallops from Hokkaido, is so fresh and flavorful that it has me in rapture. I arrived at Indulgence with high expectations, but what I taste is on another level altogether. It’s official: Ipoh is worth a visit just for the restaurant’s food.

And speaking of a visit, my room for my stay is conveniently right upstairs. In addition to cooking, Julie Song has a talent for decorating. She has furnished each of the seven rooms at Indulgence with a different theme, from classic British colonial to Chinoiserie and Rococo.

My room, called Tzarrah, is huge, with a bathroom so big that at first glance I mistake one archway for a mirror. Bright orange and yellow curtains and white sheets offset the dark hues of the wood, and I settle in for a lovely stay.

In the morning, Jessie is kind enough to take me into the city center for—you guessed it—more food. Our first stop is at Burps & Giggles, a new restaurant in Ipoh that she and Julie opened late last year.

The space, which occupies three consecutive rooms and is managed by Julie’s son, looks like it came straight out of London’s Shoreditch neighborhood.

Huge murals and funky lamps cover the walls, and some of the tables have been constructed from an old staircase in the building.

I am so consumed by the decor that I almost forget about the food. That would be a crime, though, as my chicken burger is absolutely divine. By the time I finish, I am ready to move to Ipoh just for the food.

And I don’t change my mind after Jessie takes me down the street for a second breakfast at an unassuming little restaurant in Ipoh called Thean Chun.

We have some local specialties, including perfectly crunchy bean sprouts that have an incredible flavor due to the local limestone. I also try chicken satay and Kai See Hor Fun, or chicken with rice noodles, which is one of the city’s most famous dishes.

By the time I finish eating, I don’t think I will need another meal for a long time. And that is a good thing, because I am leaving for the Cameron Highlands, a two-hour drive away.

Still, I leave Ipoh feeling like I didn’t do the city justice. The famous clock tower, the pretty Chinese shophouses, and the nearby cave temples went largely ignored in favor of the restaurants. But I have no regrets, and the brevity of my stay gives me a great excuse to go back. Hopefully sooner than later. Hopefully hungry. And hopefully by train.

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That fact is most evident in Malacca’s food. As with Kuala Lumpur, I am in Malacca to eat everything from street food to traditional cuisine, and the city’s history as a strategic point along the strait is revealed in its wide variety of dishes.

One of the most famous types of food in Malacca is Nyonya cooking, which developed when the Chinese and Malays intermarried and their culinary traditions fused.

Fittingly, the first place I go in Malacca a Nyonya restaurant near the famous Jonker Street. The building, like many others in the city, is long and narrow, with a small facade that belies the vast interior.

My group sits at a big round table with a Lazy Susan. Round and round it goes, offering everything from spring rolls to grilled beef salad and fried squid. Some dishes are better than others, but I can’t get enough of the Assam chicken with pineapple and the stir-fried water spinach.

After lunch we explore more of the street, from antique shops with rusting rickshaws to art galleries with lush hidden courtyards. Malacca is mysterious, with most of its charms hidden inside the skinny interiors of its buildings.

In the evening I return to the heart of the city to find it turned inside out. The shops are shut, but the streets are overflowing with vendors selling everything from wooden sandals to fried squid.

My group passes brightly colored trishaws, called “discos on the go” by locals, and makes its way through the market on Jonker Street.

Along the way, we buy small pancakes filled with corn and hard peanut candy chiseled from a pan before coming to an area filled with food stalls and plastic tables. We sit and eat our fill of fried oysters and cendol.

The latter is a miracle of food. It looks like a white ball of shaved ice, but contains everything from chocolate sauce to green noodles and—get this—kidney beans. It is the kitchen sink of desserts, and, amazingly, it works. It works very well.

What doesn’t work as well is my stomach’s capacity to absorb all of the food I’ve been eating. Before my street food foray this evening, I have already eaten two breakfasts in Kuala Lumpur, lunch in Malacca, and afternoon tea and dinner at my hotel, a beautiful heritage property called The Majestic.

But that’s something I’m learning about Malaysia. There’s no such thing as too much food. And I don’t disagree. Everything tastes so good that I can’t stop eating, even if my stomach feels like it is about to burst.

The afternoon tea is a hybrid of traditional British sandwiches and scones along with Malaysian pastries like onde-onde—glutinous rice flour balls filled with liquid palm sugar—, kuih koci—steamed glutinous rice flour stuffed with brown sugar and grated coconut—, and sago—palm starch—with grated coconut and palm sugar.

The dinner at The Majestic hotel features excellent dishes like Kuih Pie Tee—little crunchy shells filled with vegetables and shrimp—and Assam Pedas—a sour-spicy fish dish in a tamarind and chili sauce. I can’t get enough.

But neither can I eat non-stop, and during my down time I go into the city center to explore. Sometimes by van, and sometimes by boat.

One evening I find myself on a night river cruise in Malacca, passing by amusement parks, cool riverfront cafes and bars, and colorful buildings.

Another afternoon I explore Chinese temples, historic wells, Dutch windmills, British churches, and remnants of old Portuguese forts on a tour with MASholidays. All of them bear witness to the nearby strait’s strategic importance as a main artery of trade in the region.

And I can’t leave such an important place on an empty stomach. Naturally, this means that I need at least two meals before noon.

The first comes in the form of amazing classic nasi lemak—pandan-coconut rice with anchovy sambal—, siew pau pork buns, coconut curry laksa with noodles, and traditional soft-boiled eggs with kaya coconut jam. I eat these at a little hole-in-the-wall eatery called Mei Sin Cafe near The Majestic.

The second comes in the form of heaping bowls of chicken curry laksa, rojak fruit salad with sweet and sour sauce, and cendol with all the trimmings. I eat these at Jonker 88 on Jonker Street.

Thus sated, I am at liberty to leave Malacca and its strait, and continue my Malaysia travels with a trip north to explore the food in Ipoh, the Cameron Highlands, and Penang. To be continued…

Malaysians won’t hesitate to tell you that they are preoccupied with food. “At breakfast, we talk about what we are going to eat for lunch,” one says. “And at lunch, we discuss what we’re going to have for dinner.” And at dinner? “We talk about what we’re going to eat during the weekend,” they laugh. And I thought I was obsessed with food.

The good thing about a country excited about all things culinary is that there is not only a lot of good food in Malaysia, but also a lot of great variety. Owing to its multiethnic culture—mainly Malay, Indian, and Chinese—,and colonial history—the Portuguese, Dutch, British, and Japanese all spent stints occupying various parts of the country—, Malaysia has an amazing array of traditional dishes.

I learn this firsthand in Kuala Lumpur, where I am in town for 48 hours for the express purpose of consuming food. My guide, Danny, wrote a book called Train 2 E@t. It is about the best street food in Kuala Lumpur near each train station, but it may as well be a guide to how to expand one’s stomach so that six full sit-down meals become a normal daily routine.

Danny meets my group at Sentral station, the main rail hub in the city. From there we take the metro one stop, where we walk through Chinatown to get to Madras Lane. The small covered market buzzes with street food stalls, and we settle in at a red plastic table behind one of them.

Soon Danny returns to the table followed by trays of Assam laksa with tamarind, coconut curry laksa, and chee cheong fun rice noodles. We devour them, hungry for the intensity of flavors.

From there, we walk through the Petaling Street market in Chinatown, picking up sweet mata kucing to drink from a vendor sandwiched between stalls selling faux luxury goods. It is made from longan, a relative of the lychee, and it is just as sweet.

Leaving Chinatown, we continue our street food tour of Kuala Lumpur with a stop at a restaurant called Anuja. Heading up the stairs, we eat heaping portions of rice, curry, egg, chicken, poppadoms, fried fish, and other Muslim Indian food. Our plates are banana leaves, our utensils our hands. It is cheap, cheerful, and delicious.

Back on the train, we alight at Masjid Jamek to tour the Masjid India bazaar. Weaving through stalls of colorful fabric and fake watches, we pick up goreng pisang banana fritters and keropok lekor fish fingers from a street food vendor. The former are crispy and delicious, the latter a bit fishy, but good with chili sauce.

Just when we think we can’t eat any more, we leave Kuala Lumpur’s street food stalls to experience its fine dining scene. First on the list is Bijan restaurant, a famous Malay establishment that has been voted the best of its kind many times over.

The beautiful dining room is low-lit, the cuisine fresh, and the ingredients high quality. Standout dishes include ayam masak kuzi, a dish with chicken, tomatoes, almonds, and raisins in coconut sauce.

Afterwards we walk back to the hotel through bustling hawker stalls selling all kinds of street food and busy bars along Jalan Nagasari.

Other restaurants we experience include the JP teres restaurant at the new Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur hotel, our home for two nights in the city. The restaurant serves a feast of pan-Malaysian dishes that include spicy coconut-based curry laksa, traditional nasi goreng fried rice, and murgh makhani, a tandoori chicken dish with creamy tomato sauce. There is excellent cake for dessert, too.

Elsewhere, we tour the Malaysia Airlines chef-on-call facility at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. We are in the country as guests of the airline, and it’s only fair that we give their award-winning in-flight food its due.

Malaysia Airlines flew us all the way from London to Kuala Lumpur on one of their shiny new A380s, which had power outlets, USB ports, private TV screens, and surprisingly far-reclining seats even in economy class. And that’s to say nothing of the Golden Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 4, which has great views of the planes out the windows, lots of Champagne, and award-winning cuisine.

Speaking of food, the Malaysian meal on my flight was outstanding and incredibly flavorful for plane food (the omelette I ate for breakfast less so, but it serves me right for not eating local).

But back to the chef-on-call facility, which itself is enormous. It is “roughly the size of three soccer fields”, as our guide puts it, and its staff prepares over 40,000 meals there every week. We walk through rooms where fresh satay is grilled, kitchens where prep cooks slice fruit with laser-sharp knives, and bakeries with doughy aromas that make our mouths water.

At the end, we sample the goods. The first and business class cuisine is spread on a table, and everything from lobster to lamb appears for our tasting convenience.

Given the size of the facility and the fact that all of the food has to be prepared in advance of the airline’s flights, it is impressive.

But food isn’t the only focus of our 48 hours in Kuala Lumpur. There is more to see than just markets and restaurants. One way to do it is to take a hop-on hop-off bus tour of the city. Specifically, a night tour with Malaysia Airlines’ MASholidays.

Ours starts at the Malaysian Tourism Center, which is right around the corner from the hotel. Over the course of six hours, we visit the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery, ride past landmarks like Petaling Street and the Federal Territory Mosque, and drive out to the famous Batu Caves, where a giant golden Hindu god welcomes us to climb the steep steps to the entrance.

Our animated guide, Joe, tells us all about the city and adds a nice dose of humor to what is a long evening of sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur.

But we can’t escape food entirely. The tour includes a dinner at Satay Station, a restaurant specializing in—you guessed it—satay. Skewers of chicken and beef are piled high on platters, accompanied by bowls of peanut sauce. The meat is incredibly fresh, having come straight off the grill. The big bowls of mee rebus—egg noodles with potato sauce, shrimp, peanut, and chili—are equally good, and I have to tear myself away to stop eating.

When we’re not sightseeing or eating in Kuala Lumpur, we are snatching whatever minutes of rest we can get in the hotel. It’s not hard to do, given that our rooms are enormous, modern, full of amenities—loofahs in the shower and the bath—and offer stunning views over the city and its famous twin Petronas Towers.

But we’re not in Malaysia to sit in hotel rooms all day, and off we must go to Malacca. Naturally, we have to eat on the way there, so we stop at one last restaurant in Kuala Lumpur: an Indian mamak restaurant. Open 24 hours, it serves excellent cone-shaped sweet roti tissu flatbread, as well as roti kosong and roti telur, both of which are great with dipping sauces.

And let’s not forget the famous teh tarik, or pulled milk tea. We are mesmerized by the man pouring it in long streams from pitcher to mug.

After breakfast, we say our farewell to Kuala Lumpur, its street food, restaurants, sights, and sounds, and drive south to explore more of the country’s culinary scene. To be continued (when my stomach is less full)…

The Goring, which is just around the corner from London’s Victoria station in Belgravia, is best known for being the place where Kate Middleton and her family stayed the night before the Royal Wedding. But the family-owned five-star luxury hotel has been around for over 100 years, and when they invited me to have a little staycation in London, I gladly accepted.

After a warm welcome at reception, I met the guest relations manager, Michael, in the sunny yellow tearoom for a glass of Champagne. I had been to afternoon tea there awhile back, and the cheerful yet traditional space remains one of my favorite places for tea in London. And I’m not alone; the UK Tea Guild just gave it the 2013 Top London Afternoon Tea Award.

While we were catching up, a tray of canapes came by. We sampled some, and Michael explained that the owners of The Goring hotel believe in treating guests like extended family, so much so that they offer them complimentary nibbles at happy hour. It was a nice touch.

Later that evening I met some fellow expat friends for dinner, and when I returned I was happy that the staff knew my name and room number without having to ask. It really was like being part of the family.

My friends joined me in my suite for a girls’ night in. We sat in the classically decorated sitting room, an intimate space with two sofas and historic paintings on the walls. It felt quintessentially British to us foreigners, and we loved it.

As we passed the evening, we enjoyed another treat from The Goring. The hotel occasionally sends guests cocktails while they are dressing for dinner, and two butlers brought us beautiful silver trays with crystal pitchers, buckets of ice, silver cocktail shakers, olives, and martini glasses. We mixed our drinks, playing bartender as we caught up. It was the perfect night in.

When the girls went home, I retired to my suite’s bedroom, which had benefited from turndown service while I was at dinner. But the best part of the room was a small sheep that the hotel had left next to my bed. She was a tiny token of cuteness that made me feel happily at home.

The next morning I woke up early and headed downstairs for breakfast. The dining room was beautifully light and bright, and I enjoyed everything from a croissant to an omelette while sipping a latte.

Back upstairs, I took a quick shower, enjoying the luxurious Molton Brown cosmetics and wishing I had time for a bath in the nearby tub, which had a television above it and some adorable rubber duckies next to it.

But sadly I had to head to my real home, if for no other reason than that while The Goring treated guests like family in most ways, it didn’t go so far as to extend complimentary WiFi. I couldn’t justify paying for it when I had WiFi at my flat just down the road. It was the only downside to an otherwise excellent stay.

Leaving the hotel, I got a personal send-off from the staff. When they learned that I was a local, they invited me to come back to The Goring hotel in London any time, a warm gesture that made me want to return to experience more of their hospitality and get my surrogate family fix. And my surrogate sheep fix. This is England, after all.

Ametsa, as the restaurant is already—and not surprisingly—called for short, took the place of Nahm, one of my favorite London restaurants. Given that I was sad to see its predecessor go (I have to fly all the way to Bangkok to eat at its sibling of the same name now), I had high expectations for its replacement.

So did seemingly everyone else in London. And I suppose that’s no surprise given Arzak’s reputation as one of the best restaurants in the world. But when the early reviews rolled in, they suggested that Ametsa was no Arzak-north. In fact, when I tweeted that I was going to Ametsa for dinner, I got several replies from London food bloggers recommending that I cancel my review.

With that as my introduction, I arrived at Ametsa with Arzak Instruction with a bit of trepidation. But things looked up with a warm welcome from the friendly staff, all of whom were clad in chic black uniforms.

My dinner date and I were seated in chairs that strangely resembled patio furniture, what with their mesh seats and hollow metal frames. We sat beneath a ceiling lined with glass tubes that looked like so many phalluses. It was a bit of a strange ambiance for a restaurant in London.

But a glass of Cava helped us overlook the eccentricities of the dining room, and soon we embarked on the tasting menu at Ametsa. It started as an intense experience, what with four beautifully presented starters arriving at once on plates and platters of various materials.

The rice with fish mousse was a bit too crunchy, but the rich kataifi with scorpion fishcake was more to my liking.

The rest of the meal ranged from scallops with beta-carotene—of which I enjoyed the former but thought the latter a bit gelatinous—to king prawns with a sweet corn sauce. It was a creative dish, and as with most of the others, presented beautifully.

The “From Egg to Chicken” dish was the only one of the evening that I thought was unappetizing. The combination fell flat, and the dish lacked cohesion. But the monkfish with a red onion paper was fresh and flavorful, and was the best course of the evening.

Then came the pigeon. It wasn’t my favorite, although I’m not a fan of pigeon in general. The accompanying “shot” was a mix of colorful potato dots and balsamic-filled bubbles that burst open on the tongue. It was a nice nod to the molecular gastronomy that Arzak is known for.

The first dessert of the evening was a surprise, which came with two caramel-looking bites that turned out to contain orange juice. It was an interesting combination, although the concentrated sweetness of the orange flavor was a bit too intense for me.

The bites were followed by a fruit course with a liquid nitrogen strawberry sauce. It was creative and entertaining, what with the server making it bubble as he poured the nitrogen over the shot glass full of berries.

The last dessert was a small brioche with mango and coconut, a solid combination of sweet flavors. It was followed by a pretty plate of petit fours.

When the meal ended, I concluded that while Ametsa with Arzak Instruction wasn’t what the early reviews and tweets suggested, it also didn’t quite live up to the Arzak name. Above all, it made me want Nahm back in London. Given that I flew to Malaysia yesterday, I might just have to travel to Bangkok to get my fix. And then to San Sebastian to get a taste of the actual Arzak.

The hotel, which is one of an Italian group by the same name, invited me to stay the night in one of its rooms, which turned out to be a suite larger than my flat. Windows along one wall offered great views of Hyde Park, and the interior decor was done in dark wood with beige and jewel tone accents.

I settled in, enjoying the comfy sofa, getting good use out of the desk—it was a workday, after all—and loving the little vanity table by the bathroom and its comfy velvet-covered chair.

And speaking of the bathroom, it had lovely luxury cosmetics in pretty little bottles and enough fluffy robes and towels to keep me pampered for a month.

I didn’t have much time for pampering, though, as I had a date downstairs at the Brunello Bar for aperitivo. My group enjoyed creative cocktails and several rounds of moreish nibbles in a modified version of the traditional Italian aperitivo.

But my main meal at the Baglioni Hotel in London was breakfast. I started the next day at the buffet, which offered a spread consisting of everything from pastries and fruit to the full English breakfast. The real highlight was the coffee, though. Leave it to the Italians to make me the best latte I’ve ever had.

After breakfast I got some work done in my room. The hotel offered me free WiFi, but normally there is a fee associated with it. I’m not a huge fan of that policy, especially at five-star luxury hotels in London, and it was the only disappointing thing about my stay.

Before I checked out, I couldn’t resist a quick trip to the Baglioni spa. The staff kindly started up the steam room for me, and a few minutes later I was enveloped in a thick cloud of vapor. It was a thicker cloud than I’m used to with steam rooms, but it still did the trick.

Relaxed, I wafted up to my room to pack my bags and say farewell. My stay at the Baglioni Hotel in London had been a good one, and it was great to spend a night in spacious surroundings overlooking one of the city’s most famous parks. The only downside was arriving home to the stark contrast of my own flat. But let’s not think about that.

The hotel, which is conveniently located right on Hyde Park in Kensington, invited me to try its tea service this week. As soon as I walked into the room, I fell in love with its historic charm and modern touches.

Soon a server took my order and that of my tea companion, and the table filled up with glasses of Champagne and cups of blackcurrant and lavender infusions.

They were followed by a classic tiered tray of sweets and sandwiches, the latter being a generous spread of Scottish smoked salmon, egg and Hampshire cress, roast ham and English mustard, Mull of Kintyre cheddar and tomato, and chicken mayonnaise with chopped almonds.

The sandwich plate was topped by two plates of pastries, again with generous portion sizes. From carrot cake to chocolate cake, meringue macarons to fruit tartlets, we were spoiled for choice by our afternoon tea at the Milestone.

The same went for the scones, which our server brought out at the end to ensure maximum freshness and warmth. An abundance of plain, currant, and chocolate scones arrived along with clotted cream and jam, and their lightness made them the star of the tea service.

When both the food and our appetites were depleted, we still had the lovely room to keep us afloat. And that might have even been the best thing about the afternoon tea at the Milestone Hotel. I was tempted to take the Park Lounge with me when I left (they wouldn’t notice, right?), but then I might have never left London to travel the world again!

South Kensington’s museums are the area’s biggest draw for visitors. The Natural History Museum, Science Museum, and Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) are three of London’s best museums, and I try to visit each of them as often as I can.

Yesterday I walked over to the V&A, a massive museum featuring everything from beautiful ball gowns to historical furnishings. I was there to see the new David Bowie is exhibition, which showcased a wide variety of the artist’s famous outlandish outfits, original song lyrics, paintings, and other memorabilia.

The museum offered me a ticket, and I spent the afternoon in the main exhibition halls learning about Bowie’s art and career. A headset guided the tour, picking up sound at various points in the rooms. It was a new take on the audioguide concept, and I liked it save for a few times when the sound cut in and out. Overall I really enjoyed the exhibition, and was glad to give up some time in the sun to see it.

Back outside, I basked under blue skies as I walked down to Walton Street, one of South Kensington’s biggest draws for locals. The road is a favorite for restaurants, shopping, bars, and nightlife, and is lined with everything from clothing boutiques to cocktail bars. The latter includes Eclipse, where I went last week for their signature watermelon martinis.

Nearby streets are busy with Chanel stores, ladies who lunch, and popular South Kensington restaurants like Cassis, a French bistro on the border of Knightsbridge where I once had a great brunch with friends. There is even a fancy version of popular fast-food sushi outlet Itsu, in which the sushi revolves around the bar on a conveyor belt.

For a more casual experience, South Kensington also has its share of good pubs. I recently spent an evening at the Anglesea Arms pub, which had great atmosphere. I have also gone to dinner at the Admiral Codrington a couple of times, and have always had an enjoyable meal.

But the most famous part of South Kensington’s restaurant scene conveniently revolves around the tube station.

The wide pedestrian zone between the station and the aforementioned museums is packed with perennial favorites like Casa Brindisa, which serves Spanish tapas, Le Comptoir Libanais, a colorful Lebanese restaurant, Le Pain Quotidien, which is a favorite for breakfast and lunch, and the new Fernandez & Wells, a cafe and wine bar that I find myself in all too often.

Around the corner are places like Snog, which serves frozen yogurt, Gail’s, a great bakery with mouth-watering window displays, Bubbleology, a new place serving bubble tea in South Kensington, and La Cave a Fromage, a great cheese shop.

Back at the museums, I headed north up Exhibition Road, passing by Imperial College, which currently has an exhibition about the past, present, and future of science that includes live demos and a 3D printer. Further north was Royal Albert Hall, where I went to the proms a couple of summers ago.

Across the road from there was Hyde Park, where I concluded my warm spring walk through South Kensington’s museums and restaurants with a walk. I’m glad I did, too, because today the rain is threatening again. So much for spring in London!

My first trip will take me to Malaysia and the Philippines (country number 91!). The itinerary includes Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Ipoh, the Cameron Highlands, and Penang in Malaysia, and a location TBD in the Philippines. Suggestions welcome (leave a comment at the bottom of this post)!

When I return, I have three days to reshuffle the clothes in my suitcase before heading to Lyon. The city has been on my travel list for ages, and I can’t wait to eat my way through the culinary capital of France. Restaurant recommendations, please!

The day after I return from Lyon, I head off to Cyprus. I will be visiting areas similar to the ones I went to on my first trip to the Mediterranean island, but hope to explore some new areas, too. If you know of great places around Paphos, let me know!

Once I touch down in London again, I have two days to do laundry before flying to Minnesota. I will be exploring places like Stillwater and Red Wing before heading to Minneapolis for my cousin’s wedding. I would love to see the highlights of all of those places, so send your suggestions my way!

After Minnesota, I fly to Yellowstone National Park to stay with a childhood friend in Bozeman, Montana. I went to her gorgeous wedding in Sonoma last year, and can’t wait to tour the famous park with her. I haven’t been to Yellowstone since I was young, so if there are must-sees, let me know!

As always, I will be blogging and posting photos and updates on social media throughout my month of travel, so you can follow along for updates and send me your travel tips!

Despite having lived in London for over five years, I haven’t spent more than a few hours in Brussels since I moved here. But I lived and worked in the city for a summer after college, and I couldn’t wait to get back and rediscover some of my favorite places.

I took the Eurostar to Brussels to be interviewed on Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio. The short journey through the Channel Tunnel and into Europe was a good one, what with getting to share my thoughts about London and Brussels on the air and getting to know the other guests on the show.

When we arrived at the Gare du Midi, I waved good-bye to the others and hopped on a connecting train to the central station. Just across the way was my hotel for the night, Le Meridien Brussels.

They had offered me a stay in one of their newly renovated Delxue rooms, a large space with contemporary design and Le Meridien’s signature emphasis on art.

I settled into my room, then explored the bright lounge and bar area before heading out to do some sightseeing in Brussels. The famous Grand Place was just a few steps away from the hotel, and soon I found myself steeped in history and medieval charm.

From the Grand Place, I walked through the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, a beautiful covered shopping arcade lined with more Belgian chocolate shops than I’ve ever seen.

Outside was the bustling Rue des Bouchers, a narrow pedestrian street perennially crowded with the tables of so many cafes. Jutting off from there was an alley where the famous Delirium Cafe was located. It was known for serving the widest range of beers of any bar in the world.

Opposite Delirium was a hidden gem of a sightseeing highlight in Brussels, the Jeanneke Pis. The small fountain of a girl peeing was created as a counterpoint to its famous sibling, the Manneken Pis.

Further down towards the Bourse, I passed by Falstaff, a famous Art Nouveau cafe and bar, and crossed the busy Boulevard Anspach to explore the funky shops, boutiques, and restaurants on the other side.

Later, I crossed back through the Grand Place and up to the Grand Sablon, a chi chi square lined with some of the best Belgian chocolate shops in Brussels.

Tempted as I was to indulge, I had a dinner reservation to attend to. Peter Greenberg and his producers invited me to join them for a meal at La Quincaillerie, a funky restaurant in Ixelles set in an old hardware store. The meal featured everything from oysters to Poulet de Bresse, and we got a tour of the kitchen to see the action.

The next morning I had a big buffet breakfast at Le Meridien, then met up with the group from the night before at a nearby chocolate shop called Laurent Gerbaud. Laurent himself took us into his workshop, where he taught Peter how to make mendiants, chocolate discs with dried fruits and nuts on top.

Afterwards Peter interviewed Laurent for his TV show while the rest of us sipped heavenly hot chocolate. Given that the shop offers chocolate making classes, I vowed to return for another weekend in Brussels to try my hand at my own confections.

After cocoa, it was time for lunch. The venue was Bocconi restaurant, which was located right behind the Grand Place. The food was Italian, and we feasted on everything from fried calamari to fresh pasta.

Soon it was time to travel back to London. My trip to Belgium had been way too short, what with the lack of time to visit the city’s excellent museums and taste more of the famous food—Belgian waffles, fries, mussels, and beer to name a few.

But the city is so close to London that I should be able to find an excuse to return for another weekend in Brussels soon. If my travel schedule ever lets up, anyway.

My flight from Melbourne to Dubai landed at 5:30 in the morning. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded, what with being flown in the airline’s beautiful business class cabin on the A380 and my internal clock still being on Aussie time.

When I got to the passport control area, there was a representative from Emirates waiting to escort me through the line and take me to a small lounge where I could wait for my driver. It was a nice touch.

A few minutes later, I was in the car, and about 30 seconds after that, I arrived at my hotel, Le Meridien Dubai. I hadn’t realized how close it would be to the airport, but it was nice to stay somewhere convenient given that I only had a one-day layover in Dubai.

I was escorted to the Starwood Preferred Guest check-in desk when I arrived, and soon discovered that Emirates had put me up in a spacious room overlooking a green lawn.

Not long later, a car from Arabian Adventures arrived to take me to the Dubai Mall. Shopping is part of the culture in the UAE, and I knew from my last trip to Dubai that no visit would be complete without a stop at one of the emirate’s famous mega malls.

I’m not much of a shopper, but there was still plenty to see. The mall had everything from an ice skating rink to an aquarium with the world’s largest single acrylic panel to show off some of the biggest fish I’ve ever seen.

It also had a traditional souq area, a luxury avenue, a gorgeous fountain, and a huge pool outside.

In front of said pool and next to the Dubai Mall was the Burj Khalifa, which is also known as the tallest building in the world. Emirates had offered me a chance to go to the top, but my deathly fear of heights meant that I opted to admire its towers from the safety of the ground. Nonetheless, it was impressive.

Leaving the mall, my driver took me back to my hotel for lunch. It was at Mahec, one of the many restaurants in a little courtyard on one side of the property (although I strangely had to access it by walking all the way around the grounds). Still, my lunch of samosas and chicken curry was excellent, and gave me sustenance for my next outing.

This came in the form of a desert safari in Dubai. It was the one thing I didn’t get to do on my last trip, and I couldn’t wait to go.

Latif, a guide for Arabian Adventures, picked me up in my own private 4×4 and drove me out to the dunes. It was a quick trip, and soon we arrived at an open-air pavilion where I had my photo taken with a camel. There was also an informative live falconry show there, although I wished it had been a bit longer.

Afterwards we got back in the car and went dune bashing, which is what they call driving up and over all of the desert sand dunes in Dubai. It was a lot of fun, and even after a big curry lunch I managed to not get car sick.

At one point we stopped to take a sneak peek at a beautiful tent that had been set up for a private dinner in the desert, and at another point we got out to explore a tented campground in the sunset.

Our final stop was at a huge desert oasis set up for camel rides, a buffet dinner, shisha smoking, and a belly dancing show. I sat with fellow travelers from Mexico, Germany, and Austria, and enjoyed an entertaining evening under the stars.

The next morning I was up early to have breakfast and sit by the pool for a few last rays of sun before heading to the airport. I spent a couple of hours in the spacious, sunny Emirates lounge, enjoying some food and WiFi before boarding my flight directly from a private gate within its walls.

Back on the A380, I waved good-bye to the Middle East and settled into my seat for seven hours of movies, mini bar, and meals.

Even the harshness of arriving in the frozen weather that somehow constituted “spring” in London was lessened by the fact that my driver pulled his car right up to the doors of Heathrow and then right up to the door of my flat, allowing me to pretend for a few last minutes that I was still enjoying my one-day layover in Dubai. If only…

Every evening throughout the year, thousands of Little Penguins (yes, that’s their official name) waddle ashore to go home to their burrows on the beach. Visitors can watch them make their way over the sand as they emerge from the water just after dark.

Given my excitement to get as close as possible to Australia’s wildlife while I was in Melbourne, I jumped at the chance to work with Gray Line Tours when they offered me a place on their Penguin Parade with Penguins Plus tour.

I met the bus—a double decker—at Federation Square in Melbourne and settled in for the nearly 3-hour drive to Phillip Island. Along the way, the tour guide pointed out places of interest and told us about life and culture in Melbourne and greater Victoria.

Once on Phillip Island, our first stop was at Churchill Island Heritage Farm, a beautiful property located on a small island off the coast of its larger sibling. The farm offered demonstrations about everything from sheep herding to sheep shearing.

The crowds at the demos were large, so I skipped them and headed for the wallaby enclosure instead. There I caught my first glimpse of the kangaroo cousins basking in the afternoon sun.

The stop at Churchill Island was followed by a visit to the Koala Conservation Centre on Phillip Island. There we walked along raised boardwalks, craning our necks to spot the little marsupials in the eucalyptus forest.

And spot them we did. Some were so close to the platform that we had to stand back a bit to give them space. It was great to see koalas in their native land, and to learn about their habitats and activities at the nearby visitor center.

Leaving the Koala Conservation Centre, we took a break from cute overload with a stop at The Nobbies Centre. It was located on Point Grant, the western end of Phillip Island that looked out over Bass Strait.

The area had a long boardwalk that offered great views of The Nobbies rock formations and Seal Rocks, which seemed sadly devoid of seals that day. Its visitor centre had a detailed exhibition about the marine and bird life in Bass Strait as well as a cafe and gift shop.

Back on the bus, it was a short wallaby-studded ride to the main event of the day: the penguin parade. First we made our way into the visitor center to learn about the penguins of the world (an exhibit that oddly left out the penguin colony I visited in southern Chile two years ago) and get food and drinks.

When daylight was sufficiently gone, we made our way down another set of boardwalks to the penguin viewing platforms. My ticket for the Penguins Plus tour gave me access to a special small viewing platform that offered a better view than the main one. I settled in there, eager to spot the tiny tuxedos while the ranger gave us a briefing.

My anticipation was rewarded shortly thereafter when a gaggle of penguins crested the dunes and made its way up the sand and along the trails. Soon another group arrived, and before long the beach was full of waddling webbed feet. It was an amazing sight to witness.

At the end of the evening, I headed back to the bus, and the bus headed back to Melbourne. On the way, the tour guide screened a penguin movie in keeping with the day’s theme. But the best part of the day was that penguins weren’t the only theme. We saw an impressive range of Australian animals all in one small area, and I was glad to have experienced something so unique before traveling a long way back to London.

Speaking of Melbourne, we started our journey there in the morning. I arrived the evening before and stayed at Quest Docklands. My night was compliments of Quest Serviced Apartments, a company that had locations all throughout the city. My modern, one-bedroom flat was huge, with a good size bedroom, a spacious living room with a desk for working and an open kitchen for cooking, and a tile bathroom with laundry facilities.

I got a good night’s rest there and woke up to a great little breakfast box full of cereal, milk, fruit, and granola bars. It was good sustenance to prepare me for my day of wine tasting in the Yarra Valley.

I was picked up directly by Fiona from Epicurean Food and Wine Tours, who had offered me a spot on her Small Group Tour of the Yarra Valley. She drove me and a couple from Texas to the vineyards in a comfortable van. It was equipped with WiFi, which I loved, but by the time we got to the valley an hour later, the views out the window were far more interesting.

Take De Bortoli winery, for example. It is one of the largest wineries in the Yarra Valley, but is still family owned. The cellar door and gift shop were busy that morning, but we were given a special wine-and-cheese tasting. We sampled no less than ten great wines, from an award-winning Chardonnay to the famous Black Noble, which was somewhere between a Port and a Muscat.

From De Bortoli we continued our wine tour with a stop at Yering Station. Their winery was modern and light, with contemporary art throughout the tasting room, shop, and restaurant. I didn’t like their wines quite as much as I had enjoyed those at De Bortoli, but the grounds were beautiful.

I even took a peek at the five-star hotel down the footpath, a property called Chateau Yering. It looked like a British stately home transplanted on Australian soil, what with its sumptuous historic interiors, heavy low-lit bar area, and fine dining restaurant.

The next stop on our wine tasting tour of the Yarra Valley was at Domaine Chandon. It was fun to visit the Australian location after having been at its Napa Valley counterpart in California just two weeks prior.

We sat for lunch in the winery’s bright, window-lined restaurant, which had stunning views of the vineyards and mountains in the distance. My simple linguine with salami, pesto, and chili was outstanding, and certainly one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had in ages. The accompanying wine pairing allowed us to sample everything from sparkling to Shiraz.

After lunch we took a self-guided tour of the winery, where we saw the grapes being brought in by the forklift load. It was exciting to be in Australia during the harvest, and made me feel fortunate to have such good timing.

Leaving Domaine Chandon, we stopped at one final winery, James Halliday’s Coldstream Hills. The small, unassuming cellar door belied the high quality of the wines, and by the time our tasting was over I had fallen in love with more than one Pinot Noir.

Our day finished with a stop at the Yarra Valley Dairy and its adorable farm shop. Everything from the cheese counter to the chocolates and gifts made me want to stay forever. We did a quick cheese tasting, sampling the farm’s delicious feta, then sat by the window enjoying pastoral views while having tea and cake. It was a great way to end the day.

Back in the van, we drove to Melbourne, where Fiona dropped us off at our hotels and said good-bye. It was a sad parting after such a great day of wine tasting in the Yarra Valley, but there was more of Australia to be explored. To be continued…

As it turns out, the fuss is about a lot. From the laid-back vibe to the foodie culture, from the great riverfront scene to the hidden laneways, the city impressed me with its livable, likable qualities.

Before I arrived, I heard tell of Melbourne’s identity as a place you have to know to really get the most out of it. Lucky for me, I had the benefit of a lot of insider tips from friends, readers, and guides.

The city had a plethora of cafes and coffee shops, most of which were independent. I got a chance to sample a few while I was in town, including the historic Pellegrini’s, where I met up with a local reader of A Lady in London, and the funky Brother Baba Budan, where I went with a fellow travel blogger.

Apart from the cafes, Melbourne’s restaurant culture showed its best side at a dinner I was offered with a friend of a friend at Ezard. The restaurant, like many of Melbourne’s best features, was hidden away on Flinders Lane such that I passed by it several times before I found it.

But once inside the intimate dining room, my friend and I discovered a world of ‘Australian freestyle’ cuisine in the six-course tasting menu and wine pairing. Dishes like mezcal cured salmon with pickled snow pea salad, wasabi jam, smoked yogurt, a sesame seed crisp, and tangerine vinaigrette paired with a 2012 Kirei Shuzo ‘Karakuchi 80′ Junmai Nama Genshu sake from Hiroshima showed me why everyone raves about Melbourne’s food scene. Add to that the excellent service, and this American foodie was ready to become an expat for a second time.

But the restaurants and coffee shops weren’t the only thing that Melbourne had going for it. Nor were they the only things that I wouldn’t have found on my own. As it turns out, the city was home to some excellent art galleries, some of which were so well hidden that I only found them thanks to an art map of Melbourne from ArtSpotter.

The company offered me a map of Melbourne’s art galleries for my trip, and I spent one afternoon exploring exhibition spaces around the city. From local artists showcased in spaces up several flights of unmarked stairs to international artists exhibited in underground rooms tucked around corners, the art map helped me discover a secret side of Melbourne that I never would have found otherwise.

The same went for shopping. Several people recommended that I check out some of the city’s historic shopping arcades, including the famous Block Arcade and Royal Arcade. I probably wouldn’t have found them on my own, but I was glad to have discovered their boutiques, shops, and cafes at the suggestion of others.

And that’s to say nothing of laneways like Degraves Street, a famous Melbourne pedestrian alley brimming with coffee shops and restaurants. All of them allowed their tables and chairs to spill into the middle of the street, creating a lively, social environment.

When I needed a rest between discoveries, I retreated to my hotel, another hidden gem near Chinatown on Little Bourke Street. The Ovolo Hotel just opened last year, and was tucked away in a discreet space that offered a great home-away-from-home feeling. No one I talked to in Melbourne had heard of it, which made me feel all the more like I had discovered another of the city’s treasures.

The hotel offered me two nights in a one-bedroom suite on the third floor. It featured sleek design with a sunny bedroom, contemporary bathroom, and incredibly spacious living room and kitchenette. The fully stocked minibar was entirely complimentary, and they even left me a goody bag full of snacks and sweets. The staff was friendly, and I felt perfectly safe and secure staying there as a solo female traveler.

In fact, I felt that way everywhere I went in Melbourne, day and night. Whether on a long walk along the riverfront promenade, in the heart of the Federation Square, or in the graffiti-covered alleys in the laneways, Melbourne had an easygoing feel to it that made me comfortable no matter where I went.

And I went to more places than just those in the city center. In fact, there was enough fuss about Melbourne and its surroundings that I took two day trips, traveling further afield in Victoria to visit the wine country in the Yarra Valley and the nightly penguin parade on Phillip Island. But each of those places has so much fuss of its own that you’ll have to stay tuned for more…

Last week I was invited to fly out to Australia with Emirates to experience the Adelaide Festival firsthand. The trip started off on a high note with a visit to the airline’s lounge at Heathrow. Not only was there food, drink, and free WiFi on hand, but there was also a special door within the room from which we were able to board the plane.

Once inside, I got to experience Emirates’ business class on the A380 to Dubai. I knew I was in for a treat when I was greeted by my own personal mini-bar, complete with bottles of still and sparkling water, cranberry juice, and soda. I also had two TV screens at my disposal, a three-course meal to enjoy, and a bar at the back of the cabin where I could indulge in more food and drink during the flight.

After connecting in Dubai, I had another long-haul leg in business class, this time in a smaller cabin. While I didn’t have the mini bar at my seat, the journey was just as comfortable and the staff as friendly and attentive. It was definitely a great way to travel.

The only thing I would have changed about the trip was that the headphone jack was unique to the ones provided by the airline, so I couldn’t use my own (slightly better) set on the flights. Otherwise I couldn’t have been happier.

When I arrived in Adelaide, I was met by an Emirates driver and taken to my hotel, the Crowne Plaza. From there I started my three-day exploration of the Adelaide Festival. The city was small enough that I could walk to all of the performance venues, as well as the other highlights, including the famous Adelaide Festival Fringe.

The main festival hall was home to my first event, Carlos Saura’s Flamenco Hoy. It was a stunning show put on by a Spanish company, and it featured a wide range of traditional and contemporary flamenco dancing and music. Throughout the evening, I was impressed by the range of the performers’ repertoire and the energy with which they performed every number.

The following day I returned to the festival hall for a completely different kind of performance. A Game of You was an interactive performance piece by Ontroerend Goed, a Belgian company that put individual audience members in the spotlight. Without giving too much away, it was a very creative way to teach people about themselves while also revealing the limitations of learning a lot about another person in very little time.

My third performance of the Adelaide Festival was by Banana Bag & Bodice, a company that hailed straight from my home state of California (surprise, surprise!). Set in a large hall at The German Club, Beowulf—A Thousand Years of Baggage was part musical, part critical analysis, and all humorous, entertaining deconstruction of one of the oldest epic poems in English history.

The final show was back at the Adelaide Festival Centre, and was as different from the others as they had been from one another. The Australian State Theatre Company’s The Kreutzer Sonata was a one-man adaptation of Tolstoy’s novella by the same name. Set to Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No 9., it was a haunting, powerful piece about love, jealousy, and revenge.

When I wasn’t attending official performances, the Adelaide Festival Fringe entertained me. At the end of bustling Rundle Street, the parklands were filled with Gluttony and the Garden of Unearthly Delights.

Both had carnivalesque atmospheres and were home to small venues dedicated to showcasing the works of all kinds of performers. Similar to Edinburgh’s famous Fringe festival, it had a great atmosphere and drew crowds every day and night.

Outside of the festival and the fringe, I got a chance to see some of Adelaide. From the Art Gallery of South Australia to the bustling Central Market, from the great shops and restaurants on Rundle Street to the beautiful botanical gardens, I had no problem filling my time between shows by seeing the highlights of the city.

My time in Adelaide ended on the same day as the festival, and it felt fitting to say good-bye as the city was striking its sets. But the 2014 dates are already in the calendar, and if next year’s shows are anywhere near as world-class as this year’s, they should be going in my calendar, too. And yours.

A quick hop from the San Diego International Airport, Point Loma is a pretty stretch of land that curls around San Diego Bay and Coronado Island, offering great views of the downtown area and easy access to places like SeaWorld and Ocean Beach.

The area itself has a lot do to and see (and eat, of course!), and between hospital visits, my mother and I had a chance to take in the highlights.

Since I am obsessed with food, we’ll start there. The night before the baby arrived, my family drove over to Liberty Station, a former naval training center that is now a shopping and dining area.

My brother and his wife took us to a new restaurant and sports bar called Slater’s, where we feasted on some of the best burgers I’ve ever had.

I ordered the 50/50 burger, which was made from ground beef and ground bacon. Suffice it to say that it was heaven on a plate, or a heart attack on a plate, depending on whether you see the glass as half full or half empty. And speaking of the glass, they had around 100 beers on tap, including some of San Diego’s increasingly famous microbrews.

Keeping it local, we didn’t have to leave Liberty Station to have another good meal in Point Loma. A few nights later, my mother and I found ourselves at Tender Greens, a casual order-at-the-counter restaurant where I enjoyed a giant Chinese chicken salad while my mother feasted on chipotle chicken and roasted vegetables.

Beyond food, we also found shelter in Point Loma. Literally. We stayed on Shelter Island, a presque-isle connected to the mainland by a thin strip of land. Our room at Humphreys overlooked the America’s Cup Harbor marina, and we awoke every morning to see thousands of sunny sails.

Out front, the island had a long, art-studded walking path by the bay. It offered great views of downtown San Diego and the naval air station on Coronado Island.

It also had a view of the end of Point Loma, where Cabrillo National Monument lay. The monument and its adjacent park featured everything from a statue in honor of the first European explorer in San Diego Bay to walking trails and vista points.

My mother had purchased a senior pass for $20 awhile back—not bad for lifetime membership (they may need to update their actuarial tables)!—and I went along as her guest.

We explored the small museum dedicated to the history of the European exploration of the Americas, then went to the visitor center, which was full of information about the local flora and fauna, including skunks, coyotes, foxes, rattlesnakes, and lots of plants and wildflowers.

We admired the lighthouse from afar, then went down to the tide pools to see the waves wash up against the coastal cliffs. I couldn’t wait to take my new nephew there in a few years.

Speaking of my nephew, it was sad to leave Point Loma to travel home, but he has given me one more adorable excuse to return. I don’t think it will be long before I’m back in San Diego and exploring more of the area, toddler in tow.