Malaysian meets 'instant friends' around the world while travelling

The writer (seated, far right) with some new friends made during a media trip abroad. — Photos: CHESTER CHIN/The Star

As a reporter for The Star that covers topics on travel, tourism and hospitality, I’ve had the chance to visit many wonderful destinations over the years. The travel experiences – from touring the most active volcano in New Zealand to staying at a haunted hotel in Louisiana, in the United States – had certainly been surreal and exciting.

But beyond visiting exotic locales and staying at fancy hotels, it’s the human connections formed during these trips that have made the most lasting impressions on me.