I have rather elaborated systems for key areas in my life. Over the course of a year, the systems would be improved to achieve better results. Here are some of my top optimisations in 2021.

Sleep Better
- Hardware: Weighted blanket that eases stress & simulates benefits of deep pressure therapy. High quality bedsheets, quilt & mattress topper to increase overall comfort of bed space.
- Software: Sleep Cycle app, an alarm app that wakes me up in my lightest sleep phase to reduce morning grumpiness.
- Rituals: No phone in bedroom (I use an iPod Touch with Sleep Cycle). Total silence with no distractions for 3-5 minutes before getting into bed to clear mental RAM. A few pages of a nice fiction book on Kindle before dozing off.  

Live Better
- 60% Plant-based diet: Days that I'm not dining out with friends, I will usually just have a big bowl of salad with lots of greens, nuts & fruits. Switched dairy milk to plant-based milk at home (Farmerly's oat milk is great) . 60% because I still like my meat, cheese and that occasional after-lunch Flat White.  
- Strong Sundays: No matter how great or bad the week is, I know I get to reset it on Sunday & gear up for the week ahead. I will hike in the morning, shower up then go for a deep-tissue massage. In the afternoon, I'll go to my favorite cafe, catch up on some work, then reflect upon the last week & plan/map out the next week. A strong Sunday preps for a strong week ahead.
- Side Quests/Mini adventures: I will usually schedule in 1 big one and 2 small ones every month. These are non-work related projects led by my curiosity. The goal is to experience new things periodically. Some can be done in a few hours, while others require long-term commitment. Some of my favorite ones in the past year include: got my super bike license, made a wooden stool from scratch, learnt to bake/cook at ABC Cooking Studio, got a PADI scuba diving license, started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, got a few photography lessons from a pro.    

Work Better
- Misogi: Some years go by and you can't remember a thing. While the best ones are usually remembered by one or a very few year-defining events (called a 'Misogi'). In 2019, I went on a nomadic sabbatical & stayed in a new city every month. In 2020, I shipped a web app. In 2021, I moved to Kuala Lumpur & set up a new base. Set or capture a Misogi for the year to make it fun & exciting!  (h/t Jesse Itzler)
- Socials Ban: I only check social media/youtube after 6pm. I realised that social media makes my brain "mushy" a long time ago. I would often go on a mindless loop checking fb/ig/yt/reddit, making me easily distracted. I went the cold turkey way by cutting out social media consumption for 6 months in 2021. It was peaceful times, but I missed out on some news/updates. Checking after 6pm is more balanced and great for mental focus.
- Rewrite personal plan: I do it every 3 months to gain clarity. I will rewrite from scratch the things I want to do, the goals I want to achieve etc. This ensures that the things I take on are truly things I want to do and are important to me. It also creates the space for me to move on from things that aren't working.

Hope you get some useful insights. Have a great 2022 ahead!

Had the random idea of driving through the whole of Peninsular Malaysia, visiting all 11 states.  

Booked all the hotels 2 weeks before start date to lock it in. Went back to focusing on work. When time came, I packed and jumped into the car.

I only have 1 day in each state/city. It has to be "touch & go" style in order to get the most out of it. I set a few goals before the start of my journey. In each city, I will deeply immerse myself to get a quick sense of its culture, go to the city's best restaurant for dinner, have breakfast at a legendary local spot & visit a few of the city's popular destinations. And in order to have more time in each state, I will drive no more than 2-3 hours a day.

Here's the routes at a glance:

Map of the whole journey:

Stories from the road; Let's go!

Day 1: Endau, Johor (168km; 2h20m)
Left Johor Bahru around noon & took a 2-hours drive to Endau. A small Johor seaside town near the border of Pahang. When I asked the resort receptionist for food recommendations, she replied "the jetty", with a sparkle in her eyes. Turns out, located just 2 minutes away, is a nicely developed jetty area with a food court & recreation facilities. Was quite surprised to find that in a small town.

The food court was quiet, but there was a long queue at a particular stall famous for ikan celup (battered fried fish) & other fried local snacks. I bought some goreng pisang (it was really good) & sat by the jetty savoring the snacks while reading a book.  

The first day was spent in my home state Johor, experiencing a town that I haven't been to. Spent time chilling. But mostly my mind was still on work as we were preparing to launch something new the next day.

Day 2: Kuantan, Pahang (155km; 2h5m)
Woke up early & caught the sunrise at the jetty. Had breakfast, made some last minute work prep and set off for Kuantan. Made a stop at Pekan for lunch & to facilitate the product launch. Was fun.  

Pretty much stayed in at Hyatt Regency to rewind & decompress. Chilled at the bar & beach, had a nice grilled seafood dinner. The hotel was built in 1979, recently refurbished and still retains its charm.

Had the legendary curry horfun for breakfast at Hoi Yin the next day, followed by coffee & a mindblowing Thai Milk Tea "sourdough-nut" at Wild Flour Bakehouse, before setting off for Kuala Terengganu.  

Day 3: Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu (233km; 3h)
Walked around KTCC, the first & only mall in Kuala Terengganu. Had dinner at Yes Corner, the only specialty Japanese restaurant in town. Basic dishes, but you can feel the effort & passion of the friendly chef. It was empty when I was went in, but gets filled up quickly with happy customers.    

Caught a beautiful sunrise at Pantai Batu Burku the next morning then had nasi kebaru for breakfast at the legendary Fauzi. Damn, it was so good. I kept thinking how did they pack so much goodness into something that costs less than RM10.

Checked out Terengganu Draw Bridge & the city's Chinatown after breakfast, then set off for Kelantan.

On the road while exiting Terengganu, I spotted numerous roadside stalls selling grapes. Stopped at one & bought my favorite "ruby" type grapes. Was sweet, fresh & crunchy.

Day 4: Kota Bharu, Kelantan (164km; 3h)
Kelantan was a big surprise. It's very underdeveloped. There are very few buildings. Mostly paddy fields. But somehow you can tell that there are a lot of rich people & the masses have this simple & happy life.

While searching for a dinner place, I caught a glance of a signboard with the words "Dry-Aged Steaks". I was like, "Really? In Kelantan"? I quickly made a u-turn & stopped by the shop (KBB Steak). Turns out, the steaks they serve are bloody good. Beats a lot of the premium restaurants in Kuala Lumpur & Johor Bahru.

Had roti gedik (toasted bread with kaya & soft-boiled egg) at Oren Cafe the next morning before setting off for Kedah.    

Day 5: Sungei Petani, Kedah (263km; 5h)
This is the longest drive in the whole journey. Had to go through a highway in the mountains to cut from East Coast to the West Coast. For a long while there was no mobile data in the mountains & I was just driving blindly. Luckily, I was on the right path. Stopped at a resting spot in the mountains that serve nice nasi kerabu.

Sungei Petani is Kedah's largest town. It's very close to Penang, most of the cars on the road are "P" plate. It is a small town with quite a bit of buzz. Most shops close really early though.

Made a pitstop to Alor Setar, the capital of Kedah the next day. Had the local favorite steamed fish (菜脯鱼) & viewed the whole town from the 165 meters tall Alor Setar Tower.

Day 6: Kuala Perlis, Perlis (155km; 2h20m)  
Quaint town with nothing much. The state closest to Thailand. The ruler of Perlis is a called a "Raja" instead of a "Sultan" and looks really friendly. Caught a really beautiful sunset in the evening.

Day 7: Butterworth, Penang (146km; 2h10m)
Just nice my youngest brother was in Penang as well. Together with my mum & sis, we went to chill at Chinahouse & had dinner at Haidilao. Was a good catchup with family.    

Day 8: Taiping, Perak (153km; 1h50m)
You can at once feel a sense of peacefulness when you arrive in Taiping. Walked around the old shophouses district & explored the nooks of the city.

Day 9: Sekinchan, Selangor (213km; 2h30m)
Stretches and stretches of picturesque paddy fields, had fruits at Mango King & roamed the night market. Good place for a short day trip.

Day 10: Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan (175km; 2h20m)
Stayed at Avillion. Got a free upgrade to a premium water chalet with a gorgeous seaview. Had a call with my product team to catch up on stuffs. Was good to get back to work after disconnecting for a week or so.

Day 11: Melaka, Melaka (100km; 1h)
The original hipster city. Had a nice stay at The Nest. Explored Jonker Street at night, can never get bored of it.

Day 12: Johor Bahru, Johor (223km; 2h30m)
Home!

Conclusion

While the journey is long, it is manageable if you break it down into smaller parts & tackle it day by day consistently, as with most things in life.

It was great exploring the different flavors of the country at one go. Happy independence day, Malaysia!

All of us have that few special friends that we can always count on for picking the right places. Be it a restaurant, cafe or hangout spot, we will always have a good time and go back thinking, "Damn, what a good recommendation!"

For me, one such friend was Muru. During our Junior College days in Singapore, we would sometimes cross the border and head back to Johor Bahru together in the evening. He would always say, "Come, let me bring you to an interesting place." Then he would navigate the streets of Jalan Wong Ah Fook like a pro. Following his footsteps, I've experienced the most amazing mutton soup, fried oyster egg, ikan bakar & many more. Spots that I would have otherwise never discovered on my own.

Another one of such person was my dad. Growing up, he would bring us to the most legendary food places in JB- beef noodle, bak kut teh, duck rice, banana leaf rice & many more. On Saturdays, he would make it a point to take the family out to enjoy something fancier- chic western, the hottest & latest, places where we could spend a great time together.  

Muru and my dad have something in common. They are both explorers by nature. They like to try new things. But more importantly, they like to share the good things they discovered with friends & family. They try a lot of things, have high standards & only pass on the experiences they deem worthy. That's why you can always count on them for the best recommendations.

Inspired by Muru & my dad, I started a Facebook page that recommends the best places to go to in Johor Bahru. I would go around taking photos & writing posts. That was almost 10 years ago. It grew into a digital media company, with a team of content creators churning out posts & videos on what to do in the city. Naturally amongst my friends, I become that person that they turn to for recommendations.

Over the years, we must have covered thousands of places. Thousands, if not tens of thousands of people explore the city based on our recommendations everyday. Yet, it always feels like we are running on a treadmill, getting nowhere despite the success on the surface. Those viral posts that you see are short-lived. It gets bumped down the newsfeed after 1-2 days. The content team has to keep creating content in order to keep the hype going. Despite thousands of posts, users still don't have an useful way to discover interesting places. And if you were to ask members of the content team on where to go, most likely they won't be able to give you a good answer on the spot. The human mind is just incapable of storing a great amount of places across multiple categories & neighbourhoods.  

There must be a better way of doing things, both internally for our own curation process, and externally for the way people discover nice places in a city.

If we can't solve the problem with more content, then we will solve it with code.  

I hired an agency to build the product. It failed. I went to China to learn how to code & tried to build the product on my own while traveling the world in 2019. That failed too. After multiple failed attempts, what worked in the end was putting together a dedicated team of product manager, UX designer, backend engineer, frontend engineer & really staying focused to ship the product.

After months of hard work, I am proud to announce the first version of FastCulture is now ready.  

Introducing FastCulture

A better way to discover interesting places in the city. There are 2 core features in this initial launch: 1) Discovery, 2) Recommendation:

Discovery

- Explore: discover trending places in the city by categories and tags
- Search: want to know the best bubble tea shops or Japanese restaurants? Sure, do that by typing relevant keywords into the search bar
- Browse: need more ideas? Check out posts & guides created by local tastemakers

Recommendation

- Be a local tastemaker: come across a spot in the city that you absolutely love? Create a post and let more people know about it
- Your own pocket list: The posts that you created? They get saved into your personalised recommendation list that you can refer to
- Share the goodness: friends asking for your recommendations? Share your pocket list or posts

At the core of FastCulture is a recommendation engine. As more people use it, the recommendations get smarter over time. This way we can always find out the best places to go to in an organised & intuitive manner.

It's about putting more power in the hands of users. Everyone will be able to explore the city like an insider, as if they have Muru or my dad on their side showing them around. They will always know where to go.

At the end of the day, what we are building is something that we want to see exist in this world. Something that scratches our own itch & solves our own problem. And hopefully it solves the problems of others too.  

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. FastCulture launches in 1 city today (Johor Bahru; my forever test pad). Thanks to my team for making it happen. Hope you find it useful too.

www.fastculture.com

The year is coming to an end and that means tax season is just around the corner. Here are some tips to maximise your tax refund from the government:

1. Contribute RM3,000 to PRS (Private Retirement Scheme).
2. Give pocket money to your parents (up to RM1,500 per parent over 60 years old)
3. Improve your lifestyle (new phone, tablet, books, gym membership?), up to RM2,500
4. Make sure you're well-insured (RM3,000 for life insurance, RM3,000 for medical card, they are separate)
5. Max out EPF (RM4,000) & Socso (RM250)
6. For those with kids, save for your kid's future education with SSPN (RM8,000)
7. Go for a comprehensive medical checkup! (up to Rm500)
8. Do good: donate to your favorite charities. Up to 7% of your annual income. For example, if you're earning RM100,000 per year, you can deduct up to RM7,000.

*figures are per annum

Example

On an annual income of RM120,000, you will be paying RM15,696 in taxes for the year (see Income Tax Table below), which is around 13% of your salary.

By maximising the tax reliefs listed above (no-child/donation example):
- PRS: RM3,000
- Parents: RM3,000
- Improve lifestyle: RM2,500
- Life & Medical Insurance: RM6,000
- EPF: RM4,000
-  Socso: RM250
- Medical Checkup: RM500
- Personal Relief (everyone is entitled): RM9,000
Total Deductions = RM28,250

Instead of being taxed on RM120,000, your taxable income will now be RM91,750 (RM120,000-RM28,250). Following the chart below, your taxes will be reduced to RM9,167.50, which is now just 7.64% of your RM120,000 income. You would have saved RM6,528.50!    

Conclusion

These are some quicks actions that you can take. The benchmark is to "take back" at least 15-30% of the taxes you pre-pay monthly via PCB. Have fun!

Insurance can be confusing. The more insurance agents I talked to, the more confused I got. I spent some time delving deeper and realised it can be simple. Here are my distilled thoughts on insurance:

What Insurance You Need

There are many types of insurance, but most individuals will only need 2 types, described below in layman's terms:

1. Life Insurance: insurance company pays in event of critical illnesses/death. You/your beneficiaries get to spend the money.
2. Medical Insurance: insurance company pays for your medical bills in event of illnesses under coverage. Hospitals get the money. You don't get a single cent.  

Insurance Hacks

Some tips to help you make better decisions:

• 150x: benchmark for life insurance payout is 150 times of annual payment. Example, if you pay RM500 a month, that's RM6,000 a year. Benchmark payout would be RM6,000 x 150 = RM900,000
• 10x: another payout benchmark for life insurance would be 5-10x of your annual income. That gives you ample time to recover from major illnesses. Example, RM10,000 monthly income, benchmark would be RM600,000-RM1,200,000. Combining with the 150x benchmark, you should be paying a premium of around RM300-RM650/month.
• Max out medical insurance: depending on your age, a RM200-RM300/month medical card will give you high annual & lifetime limit. Include a no-rider plan if possible, that means you don't have to pay up to RM500 per bill trigger
• Tax-Relief: RM3,000 for life insurance & RM3,000 for medical insurance (as of 2019). They are separate. In other words, you're getting a discount on the premiums paid. Example, at the 24% tax bracket, you will be getting more than RM1,000 (24% x RM6,000) back from the government!
• Investment Returns: most insurance plans return 1% over the long term. Use your insurance plans as plain insurance, aka let the insurance company pay you and pay the hospital bills in event of critical illnesses/death. Invest your money elsewhere.

Trigger maximum tax relief, use the 150x & 10x benchmarks as a guide, get a good medical card. Not a penny more, not a penny less. ;)

Conclusion

The above are just some of my thoughts on insurance. To get professional advice, speak to a certified insurance agent. Although I highly suspect they will make it confusing. No worries though, armed with the tips & hacks above, you will be able to steer the conversation in the right direction.

Cleared off 95% of my stuffs earlier this year. Besides a small storage box containing warm clothings & documents at my brother's apartment, everything I own fits into a cabin-sized luggage & 20L backpack. Here's a look:

Bags

Clothing + Essentials

12x T-shirts: 8x black for going out, 4x white for sleeping, Uniqlo Suprima
1x Jeans: a new pair every year, usually Levi's
1x Bermuda shorts
2x Sleeping shorts
2x Running shorts
1x Sneakers: for going out, for running, for everything, yes just 1 pair
3x socks: Lululemon has some of the most comfortable & functional socks ever
1x Jacket
8x underwear
1x toiletry bag: toothbrush, razor, hair wax etc
1x media pouch: to store cables and charging hub
1x stationery zip-lockbag
1x laundry bag: great for keeping dirty clothes "organised" & for laundry run
1x Kinto travel tumblr: warm water during a cold bus ride, best

Gadgets

MacBook Pro 15”: for daily work, a highly-reliable machine for coding + designing tasks
Apple Magic Mouse: for work that needs precision
iPad Pro: replaces my quarterly Moleskine notebooks and allows me to go almost 100% paperless in my daily workflow
Kindle Paperwhite: used to have hundreds and hundreds of books, now everything is in my kindle
Airpods: it's life-changing
Anker Powerbank: the best powerbank on the market with fast charge & big capacity
Osmo Pocket: captures life on the road in videos very steadily
Apple Watch (not in pic): tracks activities, notifies & reminds real-time

Everyday Carry

Wallet: with dual cash dividers for multi-currency and easy card slots for quick access
Orbitkey: to keep the keys in place
Phone X: to stay in touch, pairs with a nice case that provides quick card access

Live Simple

Less than 100 items. No more than 15kg in total. I've written about the why in a previous article (link below). In short, having less feels free. If decluttering stuffs the Marie Kondo way sparks joy, then clearing 95% and leaving only the essentials sparks freedom. Freedom to devote your energy to where it matters.

Article Link: Why I sold my Mercs & Rolex to live out of a suitcase in 2019  

I still remember the day I received my first credit card. It was on 21 August 2013. I was scheduled to fly to Taiwan. My maiden trip there. I received a call that my cards were ready early in the morning and made my way to Maybank's Johor Jaya branch to pick them up.

It was the entry-level Maybank 2 Gold with a starter credit limit of RM5,000. Just nice for a guy in his early 20s. In my mind I went "Oh wow, this arrived at the PERFECT timing, just hours before my long-awaited vacation!" and rushed home to do some last minute packing before my evening flight.

You know how the story went. Just like how any other younglings ended up after they were first bestowed with the power of credit. I went on a spending spree in Taiwan. Charging meals, attraction entrance fees, shopping purchases & more to the card. Things that I would normally buy. Things that I wouldn't normally buy. It was so easy to spend, thinking that I would just settle it later on. I ended up racking bills of close to RM4,000+. Very very close to the limit. Took me 2-3 months after the trip to clear it off.

The first few years of owning a credit card were filled with anxiety. I was stuck in a cycle of clearing off & racking up balances again & again. A never-ending hole. Of course, I got better after I decided to beat the "game". Now I enjoy lots of perks. No more interest payments & bad feelings.

The Proper Way to Use a Credit Card
It took me a few years to learn the proper way to use a credit card. The basics/straightforward stuffs being:

1. Spend within your means. Only charge necessary expenses to the card. Stuffs like food, groceries, petrol, shopping, utilities, that you would normally pay with cash
2. Know when to pay by knowing the key dates
3. Charge as much as possible (keep in mind point #1) to rack up credit card points
4. Know the perks of your credit card
5. Say no to cash loans

The most important tip would be understanding the key dates of a credit card. Most banks give a 21-days interest free period from the statement date. The statement date is the last day of a 30-days billing cycle. If you time your expenses properly, you can actually get an interest free float of up to 50 days. Let me use real dates from one of my credit card statements to illustrate a concrete example:

Statement Date: 12 October 2019
Due Date: 1 November 2019
Statement Period: 30 days (13 September to 12 October 2019)

In other words, if I make a purchase on 13 September 2019, I will have 50 days to pay it off. 49 days for 12 September's expenses and so forth. By understanding my Statement Period (30 days with Statement Date being the last day) and paying only on the Due Date itself, I will be able to create an interest-free float.

What's the big deal with that? Well, it means that the cash can be redeployed to an interest-bearing account to generate free money. The sum might be small, but it's free for the taking and it reduces anxiety when you know exactly when to pay. Now, if you use the same tactic for your business expenses, you will be able to generate a substantial float and free up cashflow.    

It can get confusing to keep track of the various dates. Thus in my phone's note, I track it via the dummy way:

The Best Credit Card Combo in Malaysia
Now, what are the credit cards that I recommend? I used to apply for a lot of cards, but I've come to realise it's a hassle to keep track of multiple statement periods & due dates. Now I only use a main card together with a few backup cards:

Main Card (for daily spendings)
1. Maybank 2 Card Premier. The best credit card in Malaysia hands down. Accumulates air miles the fastest. Effectively a 20-30% cashback on your spending when you convert the points to air miles and do business class flight redemptions. Read the guide I wrote here. 5x complimentary lounge access. RM800 annual fee, waived for spending of RM80,000 and above per annum.

Backup Cards (for emergency in case main card is maxed out)
1. Ambank "Duo" (Conventional World Mastercard & Islamic Visa Infinite). Separate credit limit for conventional & islamic cards. 5x complimentary lounge access per card. Free for life with no minimum spend; rare for premier cards. Get both if you qualify.
2. HSBC Visa Signature: nothing special besides the 6x complimentary lounge access and nice card design. Swipe once a month for annual fee waiver. Got it as HSBC had a RM250 cashback promo. Decided to keep it as backup credit
3. BigPay: not a credit card, but a great card for oversea ATM withdrawal due to its low fees & good conversion rates

Together they form my ultimate credit card stack in Malaysia. Combine with the usage tips above, I hope you will be able to get the most out of your cards. Happy credit card hacking!  

A friend is planning a trip to Tokyo and asked me for travel tips. While I do not have the usual tourist itinerary, I thought I will share some of my most memorable experiences there.

I stayed in Japan for the whole of March 2019. Out of that, 15 days were spent in Tokyo, experiencing the city like a local. Thanks to a friend I met in Cebu, I managed to rent a nice apartment in Shibuya at a very good price. The days in Tokyo were surreal. Morning runs at Yoyogi Park, hunting down great Japanese food, afternoon deep work sessions at favorite coffee shop, grocery shopping at the neighourhood store, walking back home through the busy Shibuya streets, late-night sushi suppers, weekend day trips and more. Here are some of my favorite memories:

Food

Zuicho: run by a mother & daughter team, they only serve one dish- Tonkatsu rice with egg, and they do it damn well. It's a small restaurant with just 8-10 seats located in a quiet part of Shibuya. A hidden gem with lots of locals. Long queue sometimes but never have to wait more than 15-20 minutes.

Sushi Dai: legendary sushi restaurant in the old Tsujiki Fish Market, that has since moved to the new Toyosu Market. Queued 2.5 hours but was well worth the wait. 4,000JPY (RM150) for a Omakase menu consisting of 10 + 1 nigiri with some side dishes. The whole meal is like an orchestra performance for the tastebuds.  

Umegaoka Sushi-no-Midori: no time to queue for Sushi Dai? Midori is another great place for sushi. Price is cheaper at around 2,000JPY (RM75) for a sushi set. The ingredients are really fresh and come in a generous portion. They have a branch in Shibuya. I went to the original shop in Umegaoka.

Sama Soup Curry: very different from the usual Japanese curry rice, Sama does it in a soupy way. Really tasty and goes well with rice. The friend that I met in Cebu (a super friendly Korean working in Tokyo) raved about the quirky curry soup shops in his neighbourhood of Shimokitazawa and brought me there.

Fuglen Tokyo: my favorite cafe in Tokyo. It's a 10 minutes walk from my apartment in Shibuya. The coffee is consistently good. Nice to chill and work from. Turns into a bar at night.  

Other Notable Eats: Steak @ Ikinari (restaurant chain but surprisingly good steaks), curry bun at 7-11 (good for cheap eats!), JS Curry in Shibuya, Ichiran Ramen (well, why not?) and more.    

Experiences

New York Bar: super cool jazz bar located in the 52nd floor of Park Hyatt Tokyo. Made famous by the movie Lost in Translation. Good drinks, views, music & vibes. Warning: can be quite expensive.

Globis: Japan's fastest growing business school. I took a trial MBA class here. It was a morning session filled with great fun. They have trial classes every month.

Shibuya: probably the best area to stay in Tokyo if you only have a few days. Lots of food & shopping places. Best place to view the famous Shibuya Crossing is from Starbucks Tsutaya. Take morning walks at Yoyogi Park that's not far away.

Akihabara: the crazy district in central Tokyo famous for its electronics and anime culture. While I'm not a fan of anime, it's an eye-opener to check out buildings filled with floors of anime stuffs and to experience a subculture of Japan.

Asakusa: experience old-time Tokyo vibes. A few temples to explore. Lots of nice street food. Must-try includes: sweet potato jelly, Menchi-katsu & more.

Yokohama: take a day trip to Yokohama, it's around 1 hour by train from Tokyo. Visit the Chinatown (the oldest in Japan), take a walk along the scenic Osanbashi Pier, check out the Cup Noodles Museum and more.

While I can go on and on about delectable experiences in Tokyo, I'll stop here. Living in Japan for a month was like a dream come true. I hope to do that again.

In August 2018, I had the crazy idea of traveling from Malaysia to Vietnam by land. No flights, just trains and buses. What was supposed to be a 2-hours flight took 9 days. In total, there were 8 segments to my journey. Here's how & why i did it:

1: Butterworth, Penang to Padang Besar, Perlis
KTM Train, 2 hours, RM11.40
Took the 11.30am train from Butterworth to Padang Besar. Train was nice and clean. Quick 2 hours ride. Reached at 2.30pm. Had a quick nasi kandar meal at the station.

2: Padang Besar, Perlis to Bangkok, Thailand
Sleeper train, 18 hours, THB960 for lower deck bed
Finished nasi kandar meal. Went to walk around. Cleared the rather "makeshift" Malaysia-Thailand custom. Read, did nothing, as I waited 2 hours for the 5pm sleeper train to Bangkok.

My mum, of all things, gave me a brown bag filled with 6 hard-boiled eggs before I set off for this trip. Alas, it saved my life. Armed with no Thai Baht, as I planned to exchange in Bangkok, I couldn't buy food on the train. Hunger pangs greeted me at 9pm+. I was prepared to suffer through the night, and then I remembered the eggs! Hard-boiled eggs never tasted so good. (Thanks mum!)

Arrived at the busy Bangkok train station at 12pm the next day. A full 18-hours ride. The train bed was rather comfortable. Slept well. The beds were converted to seats in the morning. Spent a few hours looking at the scenary.

Only spent a day in Bangkok as I've been there too many times. Ate a rather famous pad thai restaurant called Thipsamai near my backpacker hostel. It was rather memorable.

3. Bangkok, Thailand to Aranyaprathet, Thailand
Retro train, 6 hours, THB48
Woke up early the next day. Took the 6am train to Aranyaprathet. It's the border town of Thailand that's closest to Cambodia. Really enjoyed the train ride as it's retro with no aircon and filled with busy locals. A dip into the local culture. The scenary along this ride was nice too. Reached Aranyaprathet at 11.30am. Took a 10-minutes Tuk Tuk ride (THB100) to the customs. That's when the adventure started.

4. Aranyaprathet, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia
Private Car, 3 hours, USD12
The custom is a messy "town" filled with lots of casinos. Gave the officer a little "gift", cleared the customs, and arrived in a hall filled with lots of people. Followed a random driver to his car headed for Siem Reap. Thinking back, it was actually quite dangerous. Seated in a stranger's car with 3 other stranger passengers. But it was quite a comfortable ride in a Toyota Harrier. Arrived at the destination in around 3 hours.

Spent a few days in Siem Reap as it's my first time there. Checked out the night scene at Pub Street. Visited the iconic Angkor Wat temple. Got pressured into buying a USD80 painting. That aside, the experience was quite tranquil, although it's too commercialised. Sat a nice boat through Tonle Sap, a fresh water lake populated by "river people". Ended the boat ride with dinner on a big ship at sunset time. Perfect.

5. Siem Reap, Cambodia to Sihanoukville, Cambodia (detour)
Plane, 1 hour, USD50
Flew to Sihanoukville after a few days in Siem Reap. Had a little detour to check out the little Macau of Cambodia, that’s run by Chinese “mafia”.

6. Sihanoukville, Cambodia to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
VIP Van, 4.5 hours, USD12
The next morning, sat a VIP van to Phnom Penh. Only stayed 1 night as I've been there before. Met an interesting world-traveling professional gambler at Nagaworld. After a few games, we went for the hotel's scumptious seafood buffet as he continued sharing his stories and game theories. Scored a RM150/night deal for the 5-stars Nagaworld.

7. Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Bus, 5.5 hours, USD12
The next day, sat a 9am bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. It was a long bus ride. 2.5 hours wait at the Vietnam customs brought the traveling time to 8 hours in total. Had a long chat with the middle-aged guy from Amsterdam seated next to me. Sound engineer, no presence on social media at all, interesting stories.

Finally arrived in HCM after a long long ride. Went straight for men's grooming at Brothers Saigon. Superb service for the haircut and pedicure. I walked out looking like a clean cut Vietnamese. Had the fantastic Pizza 4ps for dinner. Slept like a baby in Bach Suites Saigon as my adventure comes to an end.

8. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Reflected on my adventures as I took the plane home. Going there took 9 days, going back took a mere 2 hours. Thankful for the memories along the way.

Why did i do it?

Life gets mundane with routines. Taking the same route to work, having the same food for lunch, hanging out with the same friends. Once in a while, throw yourself into unpredictable situations. It opens up your eyes, changes you a little and makes your life interesting. Happy adventures!

I run 5km everyday. Every city that I go to, I'll set aside time each day to run. Sometimes in the gym, but mostly on the streets. It serves as an achor and has brought me numerous benefits. This is why i run.

It suits my lifestyle well. No excessive gears needed. I'm not tied to a membership. No time wasted on traveling to the gym. Just a pair of shoes, go outside and hit the road.

It shows me the city. Whenever I land in a new place, I would go for a run. I would run in different directions to discover routes. New stories and quirky stuffs will be chanced upon everyday.

It is flexible. Every city comes with its own rhythm. Sometimes I run in the morning, first thing after waking up. Sometimes it's after a long day of work or exploration. There's no keeping to a schedule. Just put in the run everyday.

It clears the mind. Running burns. It is painful. But after a while, you get into a meditative trance. Focus on breathing, don't think about the pain. The mind relaxes and ideas start flowing. It is a reset point after a long day of work.

There's no pressure. There’s no contest. I’m not trying to beat any record or hit any goal. It’s just me and the road. Break into a sweat. Run non-stop. Clear the mind.

It is challenging. Running 5km non-stop is hard. Running 6 days a week is even harder. It takes determination and discipline. Endure the pain, breathe, keep going. Persist when the urge to give up is strong. After a while, you show yourself that you can do it. It spills to other areas of your life.

It is a reflection of life. The pain, the struggle. There's no avoiding it. You can only get used to it by showing up everyday.

Some of my favourite memories on the road came from my daily runs. Running early in the morning from Shibuya to Yoyogi park, seeing a quiet side of the bustling Tokyo. Running along the breezy and tranquil harbour of Otsu, a small town 30 minutes away from Kyoto. Running through Princes Park in Melbourne. Seeing other runners in extreme speed broke my mental limits. Many, many more.

As for Sundays, it's reserved for rest and reflections. I go for long walks. I take a pause from my runs. I let myself heal. Then i start again on Monday.

The next time you need a pick-me-up, go for a run. Better yet, run everyday. Put on your shoes and go outside. Keep going, don’t stop no matter how much it hurts. Breathe in, breathe out and you will get over it. Just like life. See you on the road.

P.S. If you hate running, pick up a copy of Haruki Murakami's "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running". That's how i got from hating running to loving it. I love his fiction books, but this non-fiction/autobiography is one of his best. Enjoy!

[Cover Photo: Evening scene of Tokyo, taken from Shibuya Mark City]

Stay Tuned
I’ll be releasing the following articles in the next few weeks. Subscribe below to get notified.

• The ultimate credit cards combo in Malaysia
• Most useful purchases in the first half of 2019
• How I work from Grade A office buildings around the world for less than USD50/month
• The cheapest ways to buy Macbook Pros in Malaysia
• From Penang to Ho Chi Minh by Trains & Buses

It all started in China. I was there for a 2-months coding bootcamp in Chengdu, Sichuan. Everyday was structured and spartan. Wake up early at 8am for morning lecture, quick lunch, afternoon coding challenge, round of beer, dinner, hack ideas with mates, reach home at 10pm. It was a life without distractions, fully tuned to producing output.

One night, while watching TV, I came to a realisation. Here I was, 3 weeks into my China journey. Staying in a rather chic 30th floor apartment, overlooking the night lights of Chengdu. I brought very little stuffs here. Just a few pieces of clothings and some gadgets. Everything could fit into a small luggage and duffel bag. I hadn’t bought more stuffs either. My daily spending was a mere RM30-RM50. Yet I was doing fine. For the first time in years, I felt a rare sense of “lightness”.

That’s a big contrast compared to the life back home in Malaysia. It was a life geared for accumulation. A constant push for growth. Buying stuffs to fill the void within. Mercs, Rolex, more and more. It was a great life but not one with depth. I went full materialistic in the first half of 2018 to experience how is it like. It was not for me. I was ready to let it all go.

Then a wild idea struck me. Maybe I could live life in an extremely lean way deliberately. The monk state, reset-to-0 kind of life. I pre-sold many things online while I was in China. People thought I was going broke. But I had a plan.

The bootcamp ended and I went back to Malaysia in the middle of December 2018. Cleared my apartment & office. Gone are the apartment, my less than 1 year old Mercedes C200, Rolex watch, furniture, electrical appliances, books, kitchenware, extra clothings and many more. In less than 15 days, I sold/gave away/threw almost of my worldly possessions, accumulated over the years. I was down to the essential 5%. Everything could be fitted into a small luggage and a duffel bag. And then I hit the road on 1 January 2019.

For the past 6 months, I’ve been living the “Fast Culture” lifestyle that I envisioned. Moving to a new country every 2-3 weeks. Getting to know a culture and its quirks rapidly. Going deep, making new friends, new memories and experiences. Having the freedom to be anywhere, anytime.

How is it like living like this? I'll share more:

• Accommodation: I move to a new airbnb every 2-3 weeks. “Rental” is now an item I can charge to my AMEX card, raking up points. Every move out is a moment to reflect upon my experiences in the city. I used to experience out "move out" every 3-4 years. Now i do it every 2-3 weeks!
• Transport: for the first time in my adult life, I don’t own a car. I grab/uber in most of the cities. Costs less than 10% of what I used to pay for my car monthly payment. Time saved on driving is reallocated to reading and doing light work while getting “chauffeured”.
• Flights: free flights everywhere I go via credit card points
• “Wardrobe”: extremely lean. 8 black tees, 3 white tees, 1 jeans, 3 pairs of shorts, 1 jacket. And after optimising, 1 freaking pair of shoes that couple as my everyday shoe and running shoe for my daily 5k run
• Stuffs: gave up chasing the false rabbits of success. The most important things are getting meaningful work done everyday and having the engery to explore a new city
• Books: used to have hundreds and hundreds of books. Didn’t want to waste it so I gave it to the new tenant who graciously accepted. Now I still have hundreds of books with me. It’s all in my Kindle.
• Flexibility: for a little more than RM1,000 over my previously rented apartment, I am now able to live anywhere, anytime. My work allows me to work anywhere. But in the past, due to fixed expenses like car payment, rental, I don’t usually do more than 2 weeks. Had to force myself to go “home”. Now I can stay anywhere with no pressure of going “home”. Home is literally anywhere that piques my curiosity.
• Paper: gone 99% paperless. I used to write my thoughts and plan my day in a Moleskine. Getting a new one costs RM150 every 2-3 months. Now I use the amazing GoodNotes app on my iPad Pro. Best of all, I don’t accumulate mountains of notebooks, and every that I have ever written is searchable!
• Cost of living: living expenses actually go down without a lot of the mindless buys and monthly recurring expenses. Investible income goes way up, allowing me to invest in lots of income-producing assets
• Office: have a membership that allows me to work in Grade A office buildings around the world for less than US$60/month
• Work: a lean life gives me a great sense of clarity, allowing me to be in the most productive state yet
• And many more

I’m now halfway into my 2019 experiment. Not sure if I will do this for the long term, but it has been extremely rewarding so far. Shall look back and reflect upon this lifestyle at the end of this year. Let me leave you with this last thought. Life is fluid. Whenever you think you're stuck in a fixed state, you can switch it up (or down), to make it all exciting again. Have fun!

Stay Tuned
I’ll be releasing the following articles in the next few weeks. Subscribe below to be the first to get notified.

• The ultimate credit cards combo in Malaysia
• Most useful purchases in the first half of 2019
• How I work from Grade A office buildings around the world for less than USD50/month
• The cheapest ways to buy Macbook Pros in Malaysia
• Why I run 5k everyday (except Sundays)

I first discovered this hack in 2016. It has since enabled me to redeem RM30,000-RM50,000 worth of free flights every year. Here's how i do it.

Credit card points >> Air miles >> Free flights

The enabler of this hack is the Maybank 2 Cards Premier. When you apply for it, you will get an American Express Reserve card and a Visa Infinite card. Every RM1 that you spend on the AMEX Reserve will get you 5x Treatpoints (TP). For the Visa Infinite, it’s 1x TP for local spendings & 5x TP for overseas spendings. The key is to accumulate points fast with the 5x rate.

RM1 spend = 5x TP

Treatpoints can then be converted to airmiles (Krisflyer/Enrich/Asia) at a conversion rate of 5,000 TP to 1,000 miles. To get 5,000 TP, you will need to spend RM1,000. In other words,

RM1 spend = 1 mile

The air miles can be used to redeem free air tickets. I’ll use a Singapore Airlines/Krisflyer miles example.

1. SG-TPE Business Class Return: 61,000 Krisflyer miles + S$71.70 (taxes & fees) to redeem. Costs RM12,911 if you book retail. You will need to spend RM61,000 to get the miles required. Thus your “return on spending” is 12,911/61,000 x 100% = 21.17%

2. SG-TPE Economy Class Return: 30,000 Krisflyer miles + S$71.70 (taxes & fees) to redeem. Costs RM1,843.80 if you book retail. You will need to spend RM30,000 to get the miles required. Your “return on spending” is 1,843.80/30,000 x 100% = 6.15%

Return on Spending for Business Class = 20-23%
Return on Spending for Economy Class = 6-8%

The “return on spending” is higher when you redeem for business class flights. The average is around 20% for business class & 6% for economy class. In other words, it’s like getting “flight credit” every time you swipe your card. Quite awesome. Redeem business class if you like comfort and want to maximise the “return on spending”. Take economy if you are pragmatic and want to max out the number of free flights you can take each year.

My Free Flights in 2018

In 2018, I redeemed a total of 4 return business class flights worth around RM40,000:

1. Singapore-Taipei = 61,000 = RM12,911
2. Singapore-Shanghai = 58,000 = RM12,203.27
3. Singapore-Chengdu x 2 = 122,000 = RM7,456.40 x 2 = RM14,912.80

• Total Krisflyer miles = 241,000
• Total cash value = RM40,027.07

Spend More, Get More Free Flights

Spend more to achieve 2 things: 1) get more free tickets, 2) get free annual fee waiver. Maybank 2 Cards Premier has lots of benefits besides fast air miles conversion (will go through them in a separate post). However, it's considered a "high-entry" card, as it requires a minimum annual income of RM120,000 and an annual fee of RM800 (waived if you spend more than RM80,000 in a year). Below are some of the common expenses I charge to the card to ensure that i hit the minimum to get fee waiver and as much free flights as possible:

• Monthly Recurring Expenses: i've optimised my life in such a way that I can charge "rental" and "car payments" to the AMEX
• Everyday Spendings: food, groceries, petrol, movies, massages etc
• Big ticket items: house appliances, furniture, even Rolex watches & car downpayments!

If you can't qualify for the Maybank premier card yet, their Gold & Platinum AMEX cards has a conversion rate of RM2 spending to 1 mile. Slower but still not too bad.

Note: I have a pro tip for business owners to accumulate points extremely fast. Do not wish to disclose publicly. Subscribe to my newsletter, shoot me an email, and i might share it with you.

The Easy One

This is easily one of my favourite life hacks and I've shared it to many of my close friends. One of them has recently redeemed close to RM80,000 worth of free flights at one go. If you're already spending a high amount each year, it's as simple as applying for the card i mentioned above and diverting your spendings to it. Have fun hacking!

Stay Tuned

I’ll be releasing the following articles in the next few weeks. Subscribe below to be the first to get notified.

• The ultimate credit cards combo in Malaysia
• Why I sold my Mercs & Rolex to live out of a suitcase in 2019
• Most useful purchases in the first half of 2019
• How I work from Grade A office buildings around the world for less than USD50/month
• The cheapest ways to buy Macbook Pros in Malaysia

I’m currently living out of a suitcase, moving to a new city every 2-3 weeks (10 cities so far in 2019). After a few months abroad, I stayed in Kuala Lumpur for the month of May. Putting my hacking skills to good use, I managed to optimise my expenses with an unlimited 22.9% “cashback” on my everyday spendings while living there. Here’s how I did it:

Update: This hack no longer works as well as of 1st October 2019. Grab Malaysia has updated their rewards system drastically. From a 16.9% "cashback", it has been adjusted down to 7.5% for 1 Oct-31 Dec 2019. And then it will be further reduced to 2.5% from 1 Jan 2020 onwards.

The Combo

Grabpay + AMEX combo = top up Grabpay credit with Maybank AMEX Reserve. Pay your everyday expenses with Grabpay as much as possible

The Simple Calculations

Grabpay: every RM1 spent = 20 reward points (platinum level). Say you grabpay RM100 at a participating restaurant, that’s 2,000 points, which can be used to redeem RM16.90 in grab rides. Effectively a 16.9% cashback.

Maybank AMEX Reserve: 1 Krisflyer/Enrich Mile for every RM1 spent. Example, RM5,000 spent = 5,000 miles. Market rate is S$20 for 1,000 Krisflyer miles. 5,000 miles = S$100 = RM300, which is a 6% cash back with no cap. I usually use the miles to redeem free business class flights or “offload” it by booking flights on behalf of friends and family.This is my favorite credit card in Malaysia. Will write more about it in a future article.

Total = 16.9% + 6% = 22.9%
(from 8 July 2019 onwards, it will only be 16.9% as Maybank will no longer award treatpoints for e-wallet topup)

Note: It’s not the conventional cashback where you actually get cash back. As I’m using the Grab Points & Krisflyer Miles to offset my ride sharing & flight expenses, it’s savings for my direct expenses.

Spend as much as you can with Grabpay

The key to getting a high amount of cashback with this method is to divert most of your everyday spendings to Grabpay. Besides the generic chains like Tealive, Coffee Bean etc, Grabpay has quite a number of interesting merchants. Below are my top recommendations for Kuala Lumpur:

Food: Lucky Bo @ Bangsar (great steaks), Thai Hou Sek @ Pavilion (cheap Thai food in upscale mall), Salad Atelier (quick healthy eating), Pulp @ APW (great coffee), The Alley (nice bubble tea) & many more.
Experiences: haircut @ A-Saloon, massage @ Healthland, movies @ TGV
Stuffs: stationery @ Cziplee (they also stock brands like Bellroy), gadgets @ All IT Hypermart (Apple, Microsoft, Razer products & more).

I bought the latest Apple Airpods from All IT @ RM699. With the Grabpay + AMEX combo, it’s just RM539 (RM160 saved!) after factoring in the cashback. It’s awesome. Yes, you can use it to pay for everything at All IT Hypermart- MacBooks, iPads, Microsoft Surface and more. There’s a Grabpay credits balance limit of RM1,500, but there are creative ways around it. 😉

Protip: get your iPhones & Macbook Pros from All IT Hypermart to get massive cashback.

A Month in KL with Grabpay

I diverted some of my spendings and spent around RM3,000 via Grabpay in May 2019 (food, drinks, haircut, massage, movies, gadgets & more; not inclusive of Grabfood & Grab Rides). It’s money I will be spending anyway. By using Grabpay, I managed to achieve a “cash back” of RM687. As I’m using Grab rides as my main mode of transport in KL, it directly reduces my monthly expenses. Win.

Conclusion

Due to the new clause (h/t Daniel!) for Maybank credit cards, this Grabpay + AMEX Reserve combo hack will only be usable till 7 July 2019. Without the AMEX component, there's still an unlimited 16.9% cash back. Top up and spend as much as you can before that. Especially useful for those big ticket items! 🙌🏼

Stay Tuned

I’ll be releasing the following articles in the next few weeks. Subscribe below to be the first to get notified.

• How I get RM30,000 worth of free flights every year
• The ultimate credit cards combo in Malaysia
• Why I sold my Mercs & Rolex to live out of a suitcase in 2019
• Most useful purchases in the first half of 2019
• How I work from Grade A office buildings around the world for less than USD50/month