Friday, July 11, 2014

Interview (34) - Molly K

Hi, I have a 10-km name but for the KISS principle, just call me Molly K (it's my Hollywood name:)).

I am a 40YO muslim malaysian lady, working as executive in the beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur. Born and raised in multi-racial Malaysia, equipped me with both strong yet mixed eastern traditional cultures of the Malays, Chinese and Indian (and a whole selection of yummy ethnic foods too!). I have been traveling since 2007, a passion I followed through after mingling with expat friends whom I have enjoyed listening to their travel stories. People described me as happy-go-lucky but having a strong personality, and my motto is simply "Be the reason someone smiles today".


  1. What was your inspiration or the event/idea that made you want to travel?                                 The world is a beautify place...and it is my religious call to be a traveler to explore the incredible creation of the Al-Mighty, as the religion says, "Be a traveler in this world, or be a stranger."
  2. What was your first travel experience?                                                                                               I was lucky to represent my company for an international event in Dubai back in 2007 - that was the very first time i leave my home country.
  3. Have you ever felt lonely travelling solo?                                                                                         Never, as I can easily make new friends. In fact, it is my objective to make friends of different races and cultures.
  4. Do you have any fun stories of things that happened to you that you realized even at the time, “This never would have happened if I had been traveling with someone else?”         The locals felt much easier to approach me and make acquaintance, and their usual 1st question is on my nationality - which very often they will think I am either Vietnamese or Chinese or Philipino or even Korean (never seem to hit their minds that I am Malaysian, or at least say I am Indonesian! ;)). Yes, this would never happened had I been traveling with someone!
  5.  What was your best travel experience?                                                                                                To Japan. People say Japan is unique that they are polite but very strange in a way. Well...my friends say I am 'alien' or 'martian' because they think I am different (in many ways). So I guess the japanese society suits me easily!
  6.  Is there anything you would have done differently/ any regrets, if you could do it over again?                                                                                                                                                     So far none. I love how my life is arranged by the Al-Mighty. I believe things happen for a reason.
  7. What was your worst travel experience?                                                                                            None so far.
  8. What’s the strangest situation you have found yourself in?                                                             Perhaps none so far as being strange is kinda normal for me:)
  9. Where will you never return to?                                                                                                            None so far.
  10.  What advice would you give women traveling solo to your home country?                                    Malaysia is still a peaceful country in general but do take safety precautions.
  11.  What are your future travel plans?                                                                                                         To places less traveled for by many ie Siberia or Greenland or Antartica.
  12. What are your top three tips for women traveling solo?                                                    1. Be safe 2. Be smart 3. Be brave
  13. What would you tell women who are looking to travel alone but worry about their safety?                                                                                                                                                         Get to know the place by googling for inputs from people who have been there, take note of your embassy contact details (apart from insurance), and make contact with your people living there.
  14. Couchsurfing..what do you think about that?                                                                                 It is cheaper but the idea of staying in a house with the opposite gender (especially someone I am not familiar with) does not provide comfort for me.
  15. How do you pay for a life of travel?                                                                                                 (if i understood this question correctly) I will do 1 year savings from my job salary for each travel i plan to make.
  16. Tell us about the best food you have ever eaten on your travels?                                                 Any ethnic food is great food for me! Whenever I travel, I will only consume local foods throughout my travel.
  17. What is the most breathtaking view you have ever witnessed on your travels?                          The Stonehenge UK. Being around the historic stones there feels like I traveled through a time machine, back to an ancient era.
  18. What do you miss about your home when you go traveling?                                                         My Malaysian traditional food! But I will hold that and enjoy the local meals as much as possible, before I return home.
  19. What item will you always carry in your backpack?                                                                           My BFF for selfie - camera tripod!
  20. Who was the kindest or most generous person you met on your travels, and what did they do?                                                                                                                                                  The japanese. They appreciate me coming to their land...and took the effort to show me around and introduce their local foods.
  21. What have you learned from travelling?                                                                                          There are lots of generous strangers out there. And different cultures makes the world go round!
  22. Who inspires you? What other travellers do you look up to?                                                         An ancient muslim traveler Ibnu Batutta. I read about him and his journals...and he is indeed my inspiration to go see and experience this amazing world.

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