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KL was kind of a slog for us. For some reason we were not super motivated to film. We spent most of our time indoors working out which was honestly a good thing because we chowed down on so much high calorie food in Thailand and Vietnam. 😬 We're looking forward to Van Life, Canada. Will be an interesting contrast to life in Southeast Asia.

Ha ha! Shake Shack just opened in April so it has not been there very long. But I think Saigon has some very nice iced coffee options 😂😂. But I’m sure you know that. 😊 Or a nice cold coconut which is one of my favorite.

@@388_days I have just known your channel lately but it is very soon I know that you two love the sweets lol.

Yes. We do love sweets. 🤣🤣

Some new restaurants lately (only my generation knows these) but they are very good: Crispy pancake (Co Ba Vung Tau): 102 Cao Thang st, District 1 (VNese name: Bánh Xèo) Wraps and rolls (Hoang Ty): 72 Vo Van Tan st, District 3 (VNese name: Bánh Tráng Hoàng Ty) Roll cake (Nam Viet): 152 Nguyen Bieu st, District 5 (VNese name: Bánh Cuốn Nam Việt) Coconut water with kumquat: 250 Pasteur (VNese name: Dừa Tắc, everytime I pass Pasteur st, I have this for a summer hot day).

Vietnamese regular dinner (Bui): 19 Ngo Van Nam st, District 1 (All the above dishes are not our regular dinner. We only have Pho, Noodles, Broken rice, etc for breakfast. For dinner, we have simpler dishes. This place offers the regular dishes the Vietnamese have everyday for dinner. It does not sound anything special but when I tried them, I was so surprised because they cooked very well, just like my grandmother cooked for me but she passed a long time ago. My uncle always invited his European business partners to Bui when they visited Vietnam to let them try the authentic regular Vietnamese cuisine).

Oh! wow! 🤩 These all look great. I think we will be busy planning to visit these restaurants. Thank you 🙏 so much for these recommendations 😊😊😊

@@388_days You two are most welcome! Enjoy your time in Asia!

Well, Americans in the United States have very diverse diets. Some eat a lot of fried food while others eat a lot of vegetables. When we were living in the US, we ate a lot of grains, fresh produce, and fresh vegetables. For breakfast we would usually have oats with almond milk for breakfast. For lunch we would have carrots, cucumbers, peppers, cheese, and maybe some bread. I used to eat kimchi for lunch too. For dinner we might have potatoes, chicken, or maybe some rice. It usually depended on what was available at the local market. We both usually had a flat white in the morning that I (Chris) would make. Now there are plently of people that eat burgers, fried chicken, french fries, and other fried foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but there are many people that also eat very healthy food. Americans and Europeans have different diets. Even within Europe people have very different diets (Greek, Spanish, Nordic, Italian). There are very different foods that peope have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Thank you!

Totally agree. It can get crazy with all the pressure to put out one video per week. We've both been spending a lot more time reading and just relaxing. That means less content, but also more time to just soak in the surrounds. Hope you are both doing well. Hopefully Rory is close to becoming official 🇮🇹

Completely agree. Monetization is a nice to have, but honestly not very important. We are very fortunate that we don’t need additional money to lead this lifestyle, but a little extra to fund that Chilli crab meal we’re anticipating in Singapore is appreciated 😂

@@388_daysYes, due to its messiness, one should only partake in chilli crabs, if somebody else (eg YT) is paying for it 😂

@@388_days Yes, due to its messiness, one should only partake in chilli crabs, if somebody else (eg YT) is paying for it 😂

We have been surprised at how affordable a luxury apartment is in KL. It's been a great stopping point for us, but it's also been very hot which prevented us from getting out as much as we liked. On the upside, we were able to work out at our gym almost every day, so we are in much better physical shape than we have been in a while. We both wanted to get the Shingles vaccine, but you have to space them apart and we didn't have a good plan for that so we decided to wait until we could formulate a better plan. It's nice to know that in the future we can stop in KL, rent a very comfortable apartment, and get some exams and checkups. No Visa is required, and you can stay for 90 days so it's very convenient.

@@388_days We have friends who just had an equally positive experience in KL. So glad you've had a good time there. We didn't have time for it this year, but we have it on our list.

Thanks! Looks like you guys are getting close or maybe already monetized. The 4,000 watch hours took a bit of time for CZcams to properly calculate.

Thank you so much 😀. 100K subscribers is a lot 😂😂😂. Maybe too many. We definitely could not respond to every comment. We like a smaller channel since we can manage it ourselves without additional support or help.

Hello 👋 We missed the celebrations so we will need return for Tet. There was so much we didn’t know the first time we visited Vietnam. We will be back in Saigon in July so it seems we will just miss you by a couple of months 😔. If you will be there in July, let us know. We have a big adventure planned in Vietnam from July to September starting in Saigon. Cheers!

@@388_days Unfortunately I gotta go back Canada in June to do my Summer courses. I am going back the old food stores in Saigon to see if they are still open since I left VN 6 years ago. They are the ones which were my grandfather's favourites, then my father's and mine before. I will give you a list for your references.

@saigonese.nguyen - Thanks 🙏 we would definitely appreciate some recommendations 👍

@saigonese.nguyen Regarding Tet, I’m totally hooked on “Ngày Xuân Long Phụng Sum Vầy”. It was playing everywhere when we were visiting. -Chris

@@388_days Lol, I like that song too. I got it played in February every year in Canada to reminisce about Tet in VN.

🤣 For sure

It’s great 👍

America is a big place so it’s difficult to say. I think most Americans would choose Western Europe, primarily because they are more familiar with the countries there. It’s not really a preference, it’s more that movies and history classes in school focus on Europe so it’s more familiar to people that live in the United States. Vietnam and Thailand are becoming much more popular and well known due to CZcams and social media. To be honest, many American happily travel within the United States to places like Florida, Hawaii, the Grand Canyon, New York, and Washington, DC. There are many Americans that cannot afford to travel outside the country and are not even able to afford to travel within the United States.

Hi Mike! We did not visit Estonia or Lithuania, but we would like to in the future. We did visit Riga for a month and loved it, but we also visited during the warmest time of year. I think you can catch a train to Estonia, but we didn’t really research that option. You may also be able to get to Lithuania by train. The track gauge in Latvia, and I assume some of the other countries that were part of the USSR are not compatible with European gauge. I know they are working on this, but it’s obviously a very long term effort.

Hi Mike! Yes, we were there in April. Some days it was cold and other days it was hot, but it wasn’t unbearably hot. It was mostly rather nice and warm or cold enough that we needed to turn on the heater in our Airbnb. Overall it seemed like a good time to visit. Regarding our Airbnb, I’m not sure we would recommend it. We would not stay there again. We had a few issues. 1) There were cats that would poop on the stairs which made it smell bad. 2) The floor was falling apart which you can see in the pictures. They said they were going to repair it, but it doesn’t appear the Airbnb pictures have been updated. 3) we had a problem with the heater going out after we turned it off. I kept having to reset it. Finally we just left it running on a very low setting which was as obviously not very environmentally friendly. It was a lot four flights up a winding staircase which wasn’t a problem for us, but it was quite a climb (especially bringing up 2-3L water bottles. Other than that it was a nice place. Here is the link. You can see it has very good reviews. I wouldn’t say it was a bad place because it had a lot of upscale features, but the floor was a major problem for us. www.airbnb.com/slink/SUyDYNhZ We are planning to return in 2025 and will probably stay on the Asian side of Istanbul. However, for a first time visit, the European side is probably best. Good luck! Let us know if you have any other questions.

@@388_days thanks! Yes, the cat’s poop may be a problem for me, more than the broken floor, haha. But we need to brace ourselves to enjoy the sights and SMELLS of the Old Town ….

@Property2030sg Very true. Most places in that neighborhood are fairly old. Here is the address of you want to see the exact location. Lakerdaci Sk. 6 34421 Beyoğlu Istanbul Türkiye

@@388_days thanks !

Thanks for watching. The boat trip is totally worth it. Khanom Beach looks amazing. Is it a more of a local spot? I was not familiar with it until you mentioned it.

To be honest, i have never been there, unfortunately. But i have done my research, and i am pretty sure that this is the place i want to retire, very soon. Looks like they have their fair share of tourists, but it seems very quitet and calm. I am an passionate bicyclist also, so this will be the perfect spot for me. There are some nice YT videos already, but i would love to watch your version. Take care. All the best, Torgeir.

Yes. We messed up. We will be back for sure. Lots to do on Penang Island. We will need to plan better next time.

I guess that is how the culture developed in George Town. People came from other countries, settled in the city, and shared their culture and food.

As we understand, a flower (the blue butterfly pea flower) is used to naturally add the blue color.

@@388_days Cool! thanks for explaining it! I just found your channel and love it!

@phtochk7 Thanks for tuning in to our channel and for leaving such a nice compliment. We absolutely love Thai food. The colors and flavors are amazing. And we’ve upped our spice level tolerance significantly 😂. We just transitioned down to Malaysia traveling by train which has been quite an adventure.

Haha! That was a long train ride. We figured we needed to attempt taking the train from Bangkok down to Malaysia and we are really glad we did it. It was a fun experience. Penang Island has a lot to explore so I think you could stay engaged for several weeks. It is also very modern outside the old town. The biggest challenge for us was the heat. It was just so hot outside that exploring outdoors was a challenge. In hindsight, our limited stay in George Town was a mistake, but the beauty of full-time travel is that we can always return and visit again. -Chris

@@388_days Yes, knowing that we can return and not have to squeeze it into a vacation is so freeing! Did you have two other people sharing the bunks in your carriage? We had an exhausting series of train rides beginning in Switzerland, but we didn't pay for a sleeper carriage. Instead, we had upright seats and fortunately the carriage we were in was not overcrowded. It was a harsh learning experience!

@FindingGinaMarie the bunks on the train were on each side of the train with aisle down the middle. I (Chris) was on the top and Stephanie had the bottom bunk. I would prefer to do shorter train rides in upright seats if that were an option. Anything over 6 hours is too long.

We are so happy we decided to walk over to the island park. It was such a nice experience and so different from visiting the city. It was crazy how high the river was when we visited. Thanks for watching and commenting 🙏😊

It's difficult to rate one city as better than the other. I think Bangkok can be equally as exciting as New York. The city is huge and there is so much to explore. We only saw a small part of the city so we are planning to return for another visit. Stephanie and I felt safer traveling in Bangkok, and we felt it was a cleaner city overall. People are also more friendly in Bangkok than New York. The air quality in Bangkok can get pretty bad. I don't think New York has an air quality problem. It also gets hotter in Bangkok, although New York can get up to 30°C in the summer. New York has central park, but Bangkok also has a lot of green space (probably more than New York City). Bangkok has a ton of shopping. I doubt there is anything in New York that you can't easily get in Bangkok. In fact, I would say the shopping is superior in Bangkok (but that's just my opinion). The malls are so much nicer and newer than most malls in the United States, and they have super cool food courts with lots of options. Is there a Times Square in Bangkok? I'm not an expert so I will leave that to someone else, but they do have a New Year countdown outside one of the large malls in Bangkok. Overall, the city feels more modern than most US cities. When we were arriving, Stephanie and I were both surprised at how modern all of the buildings look. I can't say that one city is better than the other. New York is well known globally because it is featured in so many movies, but that just sets the bar very high for visitors. We knew very little about Bangkok so everything we did was just so exciting and fun (even thought it was terribly hot). Oh, and one more thing, New York doesn't have monitor lizards 😂😂😂

Haha! 😂 I (Chris) was thinking the same thing about the scooter. So funny. The dry noodles were good. We need to start trying more dry noodles dishes. I don’t recall seeing a lot of dry noodles in the United States, unless you consider Pad Thai dry noodles. I think the first place we went for Pho in Hanoi Stephanie ordered it dry (there were two options) and it was very good (although I preferred the broth version that I ordered).

@@388_days I am not sure for the other cultures, but in my culture, when you have chance, you can try dry Cambodian style noodle (aka dry Nam Vang noodle). My Dad always has dry Nam Vang noodle and now, so do I. It takes almost 2 days to boil beef bones to make Pho broth so it is better to have Pho as normal because we did not put any seasonings on the meats and noodles for Pho.

@@388_days P.S: Cambodian style noodle was adopted and adjusted and now it is our dish hehe. It can be considered either Cambodian or Vietnamese food. I don't grab the good thing from others to make our owns but Cambodian style noodle (Nam Vang noodle) is very popular in VN.

@saigonese.nguyen 😂😂 maybe we will try it the next time we are in Vietnam.

Hi Mike 👋 Yes, we have made our way down to Kuala Lumpur. We stopped in Ipoh for a bit, but arrived in KL the other day. It’s been hot 🥵, but the temperature in KL is nicer than it was in Ipoh. We will be in KL for a while before we head to Indonesia for a couple of months. Eventually we will pass through Singapore and thought you might have some suggestions on places to eat. I visited for work about 6 years ago, but mostly ate at food stalls. I did not get to try the Chilli Crab, but I had lots of chicken rice. -Chris

@@388_days April is the hottest month in South East Asia - so, there’s more (heat) to come :). Talking about food… In KL, I remembered that there is quite a good “HAKKA RESTAURANT” next to a big shopping complex in the centre of KL. There are dozens and dozens of tables laid out in the open, with a very big signage. You won’t miss it! Singapore’s chilli crabs are very good, except you hv to get your hands dirty. It is a messy affair, which I try to avoid! Singapore is also known for “Bak Kut Teh” (pork rib soup) - there is quite a popular chain of outlets called SONG FA which I believe obtained Michelin Bib Gourmand award. And of course, durians ! Go for the better durian breeds like Cat Mountain King (literal translation) or D24. Again, you hv to get your hands very dirty - a very messy affair which I also try to avoid. As you can see, I am not really into food - I am more into intermittent fasting, hahaha. Talk about asking the wrong person for food recommendations :)

@@388_days April is the hottest month in SEA - so, there’s more (heat) to come :). Talking about food…. If I remember correctly, there is a very big HAKKA RESTAURANT near a big shopping complex in the centre of KL. It has dozens and dozens of tables laid out chaotically in the open, with a big signage. You won’t miss it, if it is still there :). I remember that their food was quite good, when I was in KL a number of years ago

About food in Singapore. SG’s chilli crabs are very good, except that u hv to get your hands dirty. It is a messy affair, which I try to avoid :) SG also has good “Bak Kut Teh” (pork rib soup). There is quite a popular chain of outlets called SONG FA, which I believe was awarded Michelin Bib Gourmand for a few years running And yes, durians ! You hv to go for the better durian breeds like Cat Mountain King (literal translation) or D24. Again, you hv to get ur hands dirty - a very messy affair, which I try to avoid too. As u can see, I am not into food - I am more into intermittent fasting, hahaha. Talk about asking the wrong person for food recommendations :). But I am trying my best to help :)

@Property2030sg 😂😂 I heard the chilli crab was very messy which is why I didn’t have it last time I was there. But it’s so well known that I might need to try it. I had Durian in the Philippines and I didn’t like it. It may have been a bad Durian - I’m not sure. I had Balut and enjoyed it more than the Durian 😂😂 Thanks for the recommendations. I am sure we will find some good places to eat. I really enjoyed the food the last time I was there. 🙏🙏 -Chris

We may not have understood what they were saying. We were the only western people in the restaurant. Luckily we enjoy meat so it doesn’t matter too much for us. We just enjoy tasty food. 🙏😊

😱- hopefully it will also cool down a little. We were in Ipoh and it was so hot 🥵. Now we’re visiting Kuala Lumpur and it’s still hot but there is a nice breeze. Hopefully not too much flooding occurs in KL. Thanks for watching. 🙏😂

Flooding is common during monsoon season

It actually ended up being about 28 hours due to train delays. Next time we will probably break up the travel a little more, but it was a fun adventure which we will always remember 😂😂 Thanks for watching and commenting 😊🙏

@388_days frankly, it is nearer if you go to the perhentian islands via the other border crossing at kota bahru. Penang is farther away on the west coast.

It’s definitely worth a visit. It’s very budget friendly which is important for us, and it has some great healthcare options. We had our teeth cleaned at the dentist, but they also have some great clinics for exams if you need them. Thank for stopping by and checking out our channel. We’re heading to Georgia in 2025 so we’ll definitely check out your videos. 🙏😊

Thanks. We’re getting ready to head down to Kuala Lumpur. Looks like you did all the restaurant research for us 😂🙏

Two others that we have eaten at since that were great …. Nasi Kandar Umar - local and very reasonable price for great Nasi Lemak and Nasi Goreng. Also Damascus - amazing shawarma!! Take away is pretty quick even though there is always a huge line up. Hot tip: It’s Ramadan right now, so if you go at lunch it’s less busy than usual! We have never eaten in because the lineups are always insane! Sign of a great restaurant! 😊

@mitchandjan Super! Thanks for the tips.

Hi @saigonese.nguyen. The weather was much nicer this time so I (Chris) did not get seasick on the ferry. Thanks for asking 😊. We have not tried Nasi Lemak yet. There are so many new foods in Malaysia that we are not familiar with. We used to live in Southern California which has lots of very good Vietnamese restaurants and also has very good Thai food so we ate a lot of Vietnamese and Thai food before we visited. We are familiar with Chicken Rice, but we have many new dishes to try in Malaysia. The food is very different from Vietnam and Thailand. Thanks for watching and commenting. 🙏 -Chris

@@388_days So you two enjoy exploring Malaysian foods there 😅 Hainanese chicken rice is the best. If you have a chance to visit Singapore, you might find a good Hainanese rice. Waiting for seeing your Malaysian food review.

Hi Sue 👋 Thanks for watching and commenting.