Back in Shanghai, time to recap

I'm now back in Shanghai after my month-long adventure in Southeast Asia.

This beautiful journey showed me the true vastness and diversity of the continent. A simmering of different flavours, a variety of languages tingling your ears, and so many wonders in this world for one to see.

We went from the limestone formations of Halong Bay in Vietnam on the first leg of our journey...

... to seeing rows of people jumping and waving their arms in the air while following an aerobics class in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, with the sun setting in the background.

A few days pass, and we travel by boat from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, home to the ancient Angkor Wat ruins.

Then, I'm whisked away to paradise in Boracay, in the Visayas region of the Philippines. The most gorgeous beach I've ever seen, with its plush white sand and brilliant blue water.

My next stop? Singapore. A land of eating, and people who like to talk about eating. For a break from food, my cousin Debbie takes me and my Aunt Amy to the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel, the place where the famous cocktail, the Singapore Sling, was created.

Quite fittingly, one of our last meals together in Singapore is at Gluttons Bay. We feasted on satay, chicken wings, oyster omlette and Chinese carrot cake at this hawker centre.

One more stop before my journey home to Shanghai -- Kuala Lumpur. I was surprised by how Chinese this Malaysian city is. Everywhere I went, I could hear the familiar sounds of Cantonese.

With only one day in Kuala Lumpur, I spent my time shopping, eating Laksa Lemak, and made a visit to the shiny Petronas Towers.

Turns out, I was also in a great place for celebrating the last day of Chinese New Year. One street up from my hotel, at Jalan Alor, was the most fantastic lion dance I've ever seen. People crowded around as this lion jumped from column to column, while firecrackers were lit down the street in the distance.